von Gugelberg, Helene Martina (2024). Reasoning ability measures, omnipresent, yet not fully understood. A closer look at the learning hypothesis. (Thesis). Universität Bern, Bern
|
Text
24vongugelberg_hm.pdf - Thesis Available under License Creative Commons: Attribution (CC-BY 4.0). Download (7MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Human intelligence and therefore measures of reasoning ability have been state of the art for predicting potential success for an individual. Yet much of individual differences in the test taking process itself are still unclear. Only when we understand what influences test taking behavior and its outcome, can we aim for test fairness across individuals and cultures. The three studies presented this dissertation took a closer look at the item-position effectunder the premise of the learning hypothesis. The item-position effect captures the often discovered increasing (true) item variance within a reasoning ability measure with homogenous items in addition to a latent variable depicting reasoning. The learning hypothesis postulates, that this increase in variance is due to individual differences in the ability to learn the underlying rules of items during the test taking process. By conducting three empirical studies, cognitive, behavioral, and methodological factors contributing to this phenomenon are investigated. Study 1 (von Gugelberg et al., 2021) linked the item-position effect to proactive mechanism of control. Study 2 (von Gugelberg & Troche, in preparation) found a shift towards more effective strategy use related to a more pronounced item-position effect and in study 3 (von Gugelberg et al. 2025) the item-position effect was disrupted by an experimental manipulation of the underlying rules within a reasoning test. The presented dissertation made the investigation of the item-position effect more accessible by creating openly availably tests for reasoning ability and detailed explanations of the fixed-links approach based in R, a frequently used freeware for statistical analysis. Further, presented results support the learning hypothesis, albeit not unambiguously. Alternative explanations and future study designs are provided in detail. Additionally, a broader definition of the item-position effect is proposed, based on the current state of evidence. Future research should investigate whether individual differences in adaptive behavior during test taking describes the phenomenon underlying the item-position effect more accurately.
| Item Type: | Thesis |
|---|---|
| Dissertation Type: | Cumulative |
| Date of Defense: | 13 December 2024 |
| Subjects: | 100 Philosophy > 150 Psychology 300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology > 370 Education |
| Institute / Center: | 07 Faculty of Human Sciences > Institute of Psychology |
| Depositing User: | Hammer Igor |
| Date Deposited: | 03 Feb 2025 11:10 |
| Last Modified: | 17 Feb 2025 21:30 |
| URI: | https://boristheses.unibe.ch/id/eprint/5789 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |