<p>Safe nursing care of patients with cardiovascular disease requires specialized knowledge and skill. However, education for such specialty practice has little empirical basis. Research has suggested that novices perceive primarily surface aspects of a domain while experts perceive primarily its deep principles. Insight into such perceptual differences may help inform future pedagogical strategies. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not such differences are found in the domain of cardiovascular nursing.</p> <p>A forced choice triad task was developed to test the study hypothesis. Each triad trial consisted of a target item and two referent items. Referent items were designed to be similar to target items based on surface features (S) such as patient age or sex, deep features (D) such as the goal of therapy, or both surface and deep features (S/SD). Participants were asked to choose the referent item that they believed was more similar to the target item and to provide a rationale for their choice. The instrument was completed by n=17 nurses in two practice cohorts: a novice/less experienced cohort with less than three years of experience in cardiovascular nursing and an experienced/competent cohort of Nurse Practitioners with at least ten years of experience in the specialty.</p> <p>Statistically non-significant differences in scores between study cohorts occurred in the hypothesized direction. However, due to the small final sample size, no definitive conclusions could be made based on this study's findings.</p> / Master of Science (MSc)

Multidimensional forced-choice questionnaires can reduce the impact of numerous response biases typically associated with Likert scales. However, if scored with traditional methodology these instruments produce ipsative data, which has psychometric problems, such as constrained total test score and negative average scale inter-correlation. Ipsative scores distort scale relationships and reliability estimates, and make interpretation of scores problematic. This research demonstrates how Item Response Theory (IRT) modeling may be applied to overcome these problems. A multidimensional IRT model for forced-choice questionnaires is introduced, which is suitable for use with any forced-choice instrument composed of items fitting the dominance response model, with any number of measured traits, and any block sizes (i.e. pairs, triplets, quads etc.). The proposed model is based on Thurstone's framework for comparative data. Thurstonian IRT models are normal ogive models with structured factor loadings, structured uniquenesses, and structured local dependencies. These models can be straightforwardly estimated using structural equation modeling (SEM) software Mplus. Simulation studies show how the latent traits are recovered from the comparative binary data under different conditions. The Thurstonian IRT model is also tested with real participants in both research and occupational assessment settings. It is concluded that when the recommended design guidelines are met, scores estimated from forced-choice questionnaires with the proposed methodology reproduce the latent traits well.

To control various response biases and rater errors in noncognitive assessment, multidimensional forced choice (MFC) measures have been proposed as an alternative to single-statement Likert-type scales. Historically, MFC measures have been criticized because conventional scoring methods can lead to ipsativity problems that render scores unsuitable for inter-individual comparisons. However, with the recent advent of classical test theory and item response theory scoring methods that yield normative information, MFC measures are surging in popularity and becoming important components of personnel and educational assessment systems. This dissertation presents developments concerning a GGUM-based MFC model henceforth referred to as the GGUM-RANK. Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms were developed to estimate GGUM-RANK statement and person parameters directly from MFC rank responses, and the efficacy of the new estimation algorithm was examined through computer simulations and an empirical construct validity investigation. Recently derived GGUM-RANK item information functions and information indices were also used to evaluate overall item and test quality for the empirical study and to give insights into differences in scoring accuracy between two-alternative (pairwise preference) and three-alternative (triplet) MFC measures for future work. This presentation concludes with a discussion of the research findings and potential applications in workforce and educational setting.

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京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(人間・環境学) / 甲第23264号 / 人博第979号 / 新制||人||232(附属図書館) / 2020||人博||979(吉田南総合図書館) / 京都大学大学院人間・環境学研究科相関環境学専攻 / (主査)教授 阪上 雅昭, 教授 谷口 一美, 准教授 森口 佑介 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Human and Environmental Studies / Kyoto University / DFAM

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The aim of this dissertation was to address a theoretical debate on belief bias. Belief bias is the tendency for people to be influenced by their prior beliefs when engaged in deductive reasoning. Deduction is the act of drawing necessary conclusions from premises which are meant to be assumed as true. Given that the logical validity of an argument is independent of its content, being influenced by your prior beliefs in such content is considered a bias. Traditional theories posit there are two belief bias components. Motivated reasoning is the tendency to reason better for arguments with unbelievable conclusions relative to arguments with believable conclusions. Response bias is the tendency to accept believable arguments and to reject unbelievable arguments. Dube et al. (2010) pointed out critical methodological problems that undermine evidence for traditional theories. Using signal detection theory (SDT), they found evidence for response bias only. We adopted the SDT method to compare the viability of the traditional and the response bias accounts. In Chapter 1 the relevant literature is reviewed. In Chapter 2 four experiments which employed a novel SDT-based forced choice reasoning method are presented, showing evidence compatible with motivated reasoning. In Chapter 3 four experiments which used the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) method are presented. Crucially, cognitive ability turned out to be linked to motivated reasoning. In Chapter 4 three experiments are presented in which we investigated the impact of cognitive ability and analytic cognitive style on belief bias, concluding that cognitive style mediated the effects of cognitive ability on motivated reasoning. In Chapter 5 we discuss our findings in light of a novel individual differences account of belief bias. We conclude that using the appropriate measurement method and taking individual differences into account are two key elements to furthering our understanding of belief bias, human reasoning, and cognitive psychology in general.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T13:16:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.PDF: 1526331 bytes, checksum: 38e40aec6b111371aebd1a5cba081a3c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-04-27 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Epilepsy is a brain dysfunction characterized by the repeated tendency of the brain to cause epileptic crisis and by the neurobiological, cognitive, psychological and social consequences of this condition. In these terms, the aim of this work is to determine the visual sensory threshold of children and adolescents who have and who do not have epilepsy, analyzing possible alterations in the form related to this dysfunction. The sensory threshold is defined as the smallest intensity of incentive a human being is capable of detecting. The contrast sensitivity function (CSF) is the inverse of the threshold curve of contrast (1/CSF). This way, the CSF is a tool that allows us to label the answer of SV to visual patterns in low, medium and high levels of contrast and evaluate possible sensorial alterations associated with the visual processing. The main idea is that the elevation or reduction of the CSF can happen deem to sensorial, cognitive and behavioral alterations. Twenty volunteers participated on this study, from both genders, between 7 and 17 years of age, 10 of whom nonepileptic and 10 epileptic (tonic-clonic crisis). All of them presented either normal or corrected visual accuracy and were distributed in groups that were equivalent in age. The resolutions were taken from the psychophysical forced-choice method, using the static sine wave gratings with spatial frequencies of 0.25, 2.0 and 8.0 cpd (cycles per degree of visual angle). During each experimental session, there were stimulus pares presented randomly (test stimulus and neutral), and the task of the participants was to choose always the test stimulus with one of the frequencies above. The criterion used was the one of three consecutive correct answers to low the contrast in one unity and just one mistake to increase the contrast in the same unity (20%). After each session, a sheet of results with the experimental situation was released and the six values of contrast were calculated by the reversions. The values of contrast obtained to each frequency were grouped in spreadsheets separated by condition (with or without epilepsy) and the big average was used as an estimative of the sensory threshold or of the sensibility to the contrast due to each spatial frequency tested. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) to repeated measures showed significant differences between the groups [F(1,238) = 11.80); p<0.01]. The analysis obtained with the help of the test posthoc Tukey HSD revealed a relevant dissimilarity only in the 0.25cpg (p<0.01)]. In other words, the results indicated an expressive alteration in the visual perception children and adolescents with epilepsy have. / A epilepsia é um distúrbio cerebral caracterizado pela predisposição persistente do cérebro para gerar crises epilépticas e pelas conseqüências neurobiológicas, cognitivas, psicológicas e sociais desta condição. Algumas pesquisas demonstram que distúrbios visuais são bastante freqüentes em pessoas com epilepsia. Nestes termos, o objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar o limiar sensório visual de crianças e adolescentes com e sem epilepsia, verificando possíveis alterações na percepção visual da forma relacionadas a este transtorno. O limiar sensório é definido como a menor intensidade de um estímulo que um ser humano é capaz de detectar. A função de sensibilidade ao contraste (FSC) é o inverso da curva de limiar de contraste (1/FSC). Assim, a FSC é uma ferramenta que permite caracterizar a resposta do SV para padrões visuais em níveis baixos, médios e altos de contraste e avaliar possíveis alterações sensoriais relacionadas ao processamento visual. A idéia principal é que a elevação ou redução da FSC pode está relacionada a alterações sensoriais, cognitivas e comportamentais. Participaram deste estudo, 20 voluntários de ambos os sexos com idades entre 7 e 17 anos, sendo 10 sem epilepsia e 10 com epilepsia (crises tônicoclônicas). Todos apresentavam acuidade visual normal ou corrigida e foram distribuídos pelos grupos atendendo ao critério de equivalência de idade. As medidas foram realizadas com o método psicofísico da escolha forçada, utilizando grade senoidal vertical estática com freqüências espaciais de 0,25; 2,0 e 8,0 cpg (ciclos por grau de ângulo visual). Durante cada sessão experimental, foram apresentados aleatoriamente pares de estímulos (estímulo de teste e neutro), e a tarefa dos participantes foi escolher sempre o estímulo de teste com uma das freqüências acima. O critério adotado foi o de três acertos consecutivos para diminuir o contraste em uma unidade, e apenas um erro para aumentar o contraste na mesma unidade (20%). Após cada sessão, o programa produzia uma folha de resultados com a situação experimental e os seis valores de contraste conseguidos pelas reversões. Os valores de contraste obtidos para cada freqüência foram agrupados em planilhas por condição (com e sem epilepsia) e a grande média foi utilizada como estimativa do limiar sensório ou da sensibilidade ao contraste em função de cada freqüência espacial testada. A análise de variância (ANOVA) para medidas repetidas mostrou diferenças significantes entre os dois grupos [F(1, 238) =11,80); p < 0,01]. Já a análise com o teste post-hoc Tukey HSD revelou diferença significante apenas na faixa de freqüências de 0,25 cpg (p < 0,01). Em termos gerais, os resultados demonstraram alteração significante na percepção visual da forma de crianças e adolescentes com epilepsia.

Notre environnement visuel est riche en lumière, couleurs, traits, textures et formes. Pour appréhender cette richesse, nous déplaçons nos yeux tous les quarts de seconde à l'aide de mouvements très rapides appelés saccades. Une telle vision dite active a fait l’objet de multiples recherches, mais les interactions entre les systèmes visuel et oculomoteur ne sont pas clairement établies. Cette thèse vise à préciser ces interactions en étudiant si les délais temporels associés au traitement d'informations visuelles de plus en plus élaborées contraignent où et quand nos yeux bougent. Trois séries d'études comportementales menées chez l'homme et utilisant des paradigmes novateurs ont été réalisées. Elles nous ont permis de mettre en évidence que le traitement des contrastes d'orientation, tout comme le traitement des contrastes de luminance sont intégrés par le système saccadique. En effet, un stimulus (distracteur) différant d'un fond texturé par sa luminance ou son orientation dévie le regard de sa cible dans la même mesure, et ce, quelle que soit la latence des saccades. Néanmoins, le contraste de luminance conserve un rôle prédominant. Premièrement, il conduit au déclenchement plus précoce des saccades en comparaison avec le contraste d’orientation. Deuxièmement, dès lors qu'il entre en compétition avec des informations plus élaborées comme le contour, il suffit à déterminer la métrique des saccades. Ainsi, en accord avec l'architecture des systèmes visuel et oculomoteur, les traitements visuels influencent la programmation des saccades de manière ordonnée. / Our environment is rich in light, color, features, textures, and shapes. To extract this information, we move our eyes four times per second with rapid eye movements called saccades. This so-called active vision has been studied extensively, but the interactions between the visual and oculomotor systems have not been fully characterized yet. This thesis aims to clarify these interactions by investigating whether the delays in processing visual information of increasing complexity determine where and when our eyes move. The present work focuses on three types of basic visual processing for which the neural substrates are well established and predict a specific order in the programming of saccades at the level of the superior colliculus. We conducted three series of behavioral studies with human participants using novel experimental paradigms. These studies showed that orientation-contrast processing as well as early luminance-contrast processing are integrated in the saccadic system to the same extent. When aiming for a target stimulus, the eyes deviate toward a distractor stimulus in equal measure, irrespective of whether the distractor differed in luminance or orientation from a texture background and irrespective of saccade latency. However, the role of luminance contrast remains dominant. Firstly, luminance contrast triggers faster saccades than orientation contrast. Secondly, when luminance contrast competes with more complex information such as contour, solely luminance contrast determines saccade metrics. Therefore, visual processes influence saccade programming in a specific order that is consistent with the architecture of the visual and oculomotor systems.