Thinking about thinking - thinking about measurement: a Rasch analysis of recursive thinking.

Two studies were conducted to examine the dimensionality and hierarchical organization of a measure of recursive thinking. In Study 1, Rasch analysis supported the claim that the recursive thinking task measures a single underlying dimension. Item difficulty, however, appeared to be influenced not only by level of embeddedness but also by syntactic features. In Study 2, this hypothesis was tested by adding new items to the recursive thinking measure. Rasch analysis of the modified recursive thinking task produced evidence for the undimensionality and segmentation. However, Study 2 did not support the idea that syntactic features influence item difficulty.

[1]  B. Wright,et al.  Best test design , 1979 .

[2]  L. Oppenheimer Development of Recursive Thinking: Procedural Variations , 1986 .

[3]  Kenneth H. Rubin Role Taking in Childhood: Some Methodological Considerations. , 1978 .

[4]  J. Eliot,et al.  A further investigation of children's understanding of recursive thinking , 1979 .

[5]  J. Koster,et al.  What can we learn from children’s errors in understanding anaphora? , 1986 .

[6]  K. Lyons-Ruth,et al.  Recursive Structure in Cognitive Perspective Taking. , 1980 .

[7]  Finding your marbles: does preschoolers' strategic behavior predict later understanding of mind? , 1998, Developmental psychology.

[8]  H. Wellman,et al.  Scaling of theory-of-mind tasks. , 2004, Child development.

[9]  B. Vitale Elusive recursion: A trip in recursive land , 1989 .

[10]  Kenneth H. Rubin Egocentrism in Childhood: A Unitary Construct?. , 1973 .

[11]  John H. Flavell,et al.  Thinking about people thinking about people thinking about . . . : A study of social cognitive development. , 1970 .

[12]  J. Grimshaw,et al.  Knowledge and Obedience: The Developmental Status of the Binding Theory , 1990 .

[13]  J. Perner,et al.  Development of theory of mind and executive control , 1999, Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

[14]  C. Shantz,et al.  Thinking about people thinking about people. , 1982 .

[15]  G. Masters,et al.  Rating scale analysis , 1982 .

[16]  Lawrence M. Solan,et al.  Pronominal Reference: Child Language and the Theory of Grammar , 1983, Journal of Child Language.

[17]  L. Oppenheimer The Development of the Processing of Social Perspectives: A Cognitive Model , 1978 .

[18]  M Hollander,et al.  Young children's understanding of thought bubbles and of thoughts. , 1996, Child development.

[19]  J. Villiers,et al.  Linguistic determinism and the understanding of false beliefs. , 2000 .

[20]  C. Fox,et al.  Applying the Rasch Model: Fundamental Measurement in the Human Sciences , 2001 .

[21]  P. Zelazo The development of conscious control in childhood , 2004, Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

[22]  L. A. Kurdek,et al.  Structural components and intellectual correlates of cognitive perspective taking in first- through fourth-grade children. , 1977 .

[23]  I. Sigel,et al.  HANDBOOK OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY , 2006 .