In this article, we provide guidance for substantive researchers on the use of structural equation modeling in practice for theory testing and development. We present a comprehensive, two-step modeling approach that employs a series of nested models and sequential chi-square difference tests. We discuss the comparative advantages of this approach over a one-step approach. Considerations in specification, assessment of fit, and respecification of measurement models using confirmatory factor analysis are reviewed. As background to the two-step approach, the distinction between exploratory and confirmatory analysis, the distinction between complementary approaches for theory testing versus predictive application, and some developments in estimation methods also are discussed.

/pdf/structural-equation-modeling-in-practice-a-review-and-1ue2omj492.pdf

Structural equation modeling in practice: a review and recommended two-step approach

A Scaling Method for Priorities in Hierarchical Structures

Tested the 2-process theory of detection, search, and attention presented by the current authors (1977) in a series of experiments. The studies (a) demonstrate the qualitative difference between 2 modes of information processing: automatic detection and controlled search; (b) trace the course of the

http://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.127

Controlled and automatic human information processing: II. Perceptual learning, automatic attending and a general theory.

Miller (1956) summarized evidence that people can remember about seven chunks in short-term memory (STM) tasks. How- ever, that number was meant more as a rough estimate and a rhetorical device than as a real capacity limit. Others have since suggested that there is a more precise capacity limit, but that it is only three to five chunks. The present target article brings together a wide vari- ety of data on capacity limits suggesting that the smaller capacity limit is real. Capacity limits will be useful in analyses of information processing only if the boundary conditions for observing them can be carefully described. Four basic conditions in which chunks can be identified and capacity limits can accordingly be observed are: (1) when information overload limits chunks to individual stimulus items, (2) when other steps are taken specifically to block the recoding of stimulus items into larger chunks, (3) in performance discontinuities caused by the capacity limit, and (4) in various indirect effects of the capacity limit. Under these conditions, rehearsal and long-term memory cannot be used to combine stimulus items into chunks of an unknown size; nor can storage mechanisms that are not capacity- limited, such as sensory memory, allow the capacity-limited storage mechanism to be refilled during recall. A single, central capacity limit averaging about four chunks is implicated along with other, noncapacity-limited sources. The pure STM capacity limit expressed in chunks is distinguished from compound STM limits obtained when the number of separately held chunks is unclear. Reasons why pure capacity estimates fall within a narrow range are discussed and a capacity limit for the focus of attention is proposed.

/pdf/the-magical-number-4-in-short-term-memory-a-reconsideration-3704b9phuz.pdf

The magical number 4 in short-term memory: a reconsideration of mental storage capacity.

Two data sources--self-reports and peer ratings--and two instruments--adjective factors and questionnaire scales--were used to assess the five-factor model of personality. As in a previous study of self-reports (McCrae & Costa, 1985b), adjective factors of neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness-antagonism, and conscientiousness-undirectedness were identified in an analysis of 738 peer ratings of 275 adult subjects. Intraclass correlations among raters, ranging from .30 to .65, and correlations between mean peer ratings and self-reports, from .25 to .62, showed substantial cross-observer agreement on all five adjective factors. Similar results were seen in analyses of scales from the NEO Personality Inventory. Items from the adjective factors were used as guides in a discussion of the nature of the five factors. These data reinforce recent appeals for the adoption of the five-factor model in personality research and assessment.

/pdf/validation-of-the-five-factor-model-of-personality-across-574uftu82i.pdf

Validation of the five-factor model of personality across instruments and observers.

Subjects were assigned to use either three or six categories and were given either 5 or 10 trials in a word-sorting task. Subsequent to sorting, they recalled as many words as they could. A measure of sorting consistency showed that the six-category sort was a more difficult task than was the three-category sort. Number of categories did not have a significant effect on recall performance regardless of whether 5 or 10 sorting trials were used. A correlational analysis raised questions about the relationship of the sorting tasks to recall performance and clustering.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.3758%2FBF03213231.pdf

Further examinations of the category-recall function

The resolution of conflicts between aircraft is regarded as a very complex optimisation problem, yet air traffic controllers are able to perform the task with high rates of success under demanding circumstances. Much of the expertise of the air traffic controller appears to lie in the ability to select the appropriate strategy for the problem. In this project, we describe a model of expert decision making for the air traffic control conflict resolution task. A key assumption of the approach is that controllers adopt relatively simple heuristics to solve the complex trajectory problem. We model expert decision making as a serial search process in a hierarchical tree, in which the selection of a decision option for further evaluation is constrained by the situation. This is part of a broader project that is developing a new approach for simulating the tasks that a human operator performs, and the workload that the human experiences while carrying out those tasks. In this paper, we will present an analysis of the behaviour of an initial version of this model. The key aim of this analysis is to compare the model's behaviour against the behaviour of expert controllers under varying scenario complexity. The analysis relies on both data from our model simulation runs and recordings of the activities of 14 air traffic controllers. It is based on static aircraft scenarios of varying complexity.

Evaluation of a Model of Expert Decision Making in Air Traffic Control

The efficient detection and resolution of conflicts represent the key tasks of Air Traffic Controllers in enroute environments. The complexity of these tasks imposes significant challenges on the design of cognitive models that are capable of adequately simulating them. Yet, the availability of such models is crucial for a number of applications, including the evaluation of current and future Air Traffic Control concepts. In this paper, we will propose a novel modeling approach which adopts the principles of the A* graph search scheme from Artificial Intelligence to represent the cognitive decision making process of the human operator. Results of an initial version of this model will be presented, showing that the proposed approach has promise.

Using A* graph traversal to model conflict resolution in air traffic control

This paper outlines how commercial sponsorship can be conceptualized using an item and relational information framework, and supports this with empirical data. The model presented allows for predictions about consumer memory for sponsorship information, and hence has both theoretical and practical value. Data are reported which show that sponsors considered congruent with an event benefit by providing consumers with sponsor-specific item information, while sponsors considered incongruent benefit by providing sponsor-event relational information. Overall the provision of sponsor-event relational information is shown to result in superior memory to the provision of sponsor-specific item information, which is superior to basic sponsor mentions.

/pdf/empirical-support-for-an-item-and-relational-1sgzjpic02.pdf

Empirical support for an item and relational conceptualization of sponsorship

Abstract Many brand collaboration platforms—such as sponsorship, celebrity endorsement, influencer marketing, product placement, cobranding, and human branding—build strong relationships between brands and contribute to the brand equity of two or more brands. Brand equity, since inception, has been concerned with the value of a brand, how this value is built and measured, and how the marketplace responds to it. Based on previous work and in response to current marketing practices, the authors suggest that the concept of shared brand equity, where collaborative efforts result in connectivity between brands, is needed to better explain and guide advertising and marketing communications research and practice. Drawing on developments in cognitive psychology, we explain how shared brand equity is developed and how it persists, the role it plays in semantic/associative neighborhoods, and how it explains research findings. We offer a set of research propositions, as well as concrete examples of the usefulness of the theoretical approach.

Michael S. Humphreys

Papers

Further examinations of the category-recall function

Evaluation of a Model of Expert Decision Making in Air Traffic Control

Using A* graph traversal to model conflict resolution in air traffic control

Empirical support for an item and relational conceptualization of sponsorship

Shared Brand Equity