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    An exploration of the validity and reliability of "Managerial Reading Assessment", a cognitive ability test : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1999) O'Hare, Mary Alice
    Cognitive ability tests are generally considered in the empirical literature to be one of the most valid predictors for selecting managerial level staff. However, very few of these tests have been specifically designed and developed for managers. Managerial Reading Assessment (MRA) is an original cognitive ability test which has been created for this purpose. Because critical thinking skills, particularly the ability to draw inferences, are regarded as being crucial to the successful performance of a manager's job, this test specifically targets this skill. The present study investigated the validity and reliability of Managerial Reading Assessment (MRA) to assess its potential as a selection test for managers. A total of 97 voluntary participants, the majority of whom were drawn from junior to senior levels of management, were recruited from their place of work to take part in this research. Respondents were asked to complete the test and return it by mail. To evaluate the validity of the MRA, two criterion measures (salary and highest educational level achieved) were adopted. When education was utilised as the criterion, a validity coefficient of rho=0.39 was obtained, significant at the 0.01 level. The size of this correlation is comparable to those obtained for other cognitive ability tests. The internal consistency of the test was computed using the alpha coefficient. The results indicate that this test is also reliable. More study would need to be conducted to further assess the psychometric properties of this test.
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    An investigation of cerebral asymmetry, echoic memory, and the stimulus suffix effect : a thesis ... for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1981) Blazina-Young, Elizabeth
    Echoic memory and hemispheric processing of two semantic categories of words were investigated utilizing a stimulus suffix paradigm under four delay conditions. The magnitude of the stimulus suffix effect was evaluated when combinations of concrete and abstract word lists and suffixes were monoaurally presented to the left and right ears. The results showed that the stimulus suffix effect occured for all information presented to both ears but was less pronounced when information was presented to the right ear. A right ear advantage for all information as well as a right ear advantage for abstract information was found. In addition, the right ear showed superior recall of abstract stimulus list and suffix combinations over other list and suffix combinations. Increasing delays between list and suffix presentation led to an increase in recall frequencies for terminal positions in the lists, but this increase was not systematic with delay. Results suggest that the right ear advantage often reported is due to right ear advantage for abstract information, and that echoic memory persists for at least 8 secs. These findings support the dual-trace processing model of hemispheric function and suggest that echoic memory may persist longer than the 2 secs implied by earlier researchers.
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    Vicarious reinforcement of cognitive skill : a dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1976) Sass, Mildred Sharon
    This study was designed to explore direct and vicarious reinforcement of cognitive skill. Cognitive skill, in this case, was defined by specific types of answering behaviour. In developmental stages of the study, a taxonomy of educational objectives was found unsatisfactory for classifying answers given by subjects. For this reason, a classification scheme was developed for use in the present study. This scheme supplied six categories of cognitive skill. Subjects' answers were classified according to which of the six cognitive skills they represented. Developmental work also explored a variety of types of questions (completion, multiple-choice, and open-ended) in an attempt to determine which were efficient at eliciting answers representing a variety of cognitive skills. Open-ended questions appeared most satisfactory because they allowed free manifestation of a variety of types of answers rather than predetermining the cognitive skill represented by answers, as did completion and multiple-choice items. However, with open-ended questions, there was an accompanying difficulty of eliciting answers which represented specific categories of response so that consistent stimuli could be provided for observing subjects. Since some categories had low operant levels, a videotape was used to provide standardized and consistent stimuli for observers. The modelling situation did not permit the exploration of direct reinforcement so the emphasis of the study turned to vicarious reinforcement. In an experimental situation, subjects (girls aged 15 to 16 years) watched a model giving "answers" which corresponded to all six categories of the classification scheme. Some of the model's "answers" were praised and others were not. Subsequent measures of the observing subjects' responses tested the effect of vicarious praise. Measures were also taken to determine the effect of awareness of contingencies of reinforcement on subjects' responses. Furthermore, alterations in the experimental design were used to explore the effects of increased intensity and relative position of praise in the modelled sequence. Exact probabilities were used to analyze the data where possible. However, where there was more than one degree of freedom, a chi square statistic was used to determine the significance of results. The results showed that vicarious praise did influence the types of answers given by observing subjects. That is, the praise was an effective vicarious reinforcer. However, the order of the model's "answers" and awareness on the part of subjects were unrelated to responses given by subjects. Moreover, increased intensity and change in position of the praise did not produce greater treatment effects. Alternate methods of classifying the data were explored but not found to be more efficient than the original scheme at detecting a treatment effect. Also, an unsuccessful attempt was made to identify characteristics of subjects which affected their answering behaviour. The results are discussed as they relate to both education and psychology, and implication for both fields are considered.
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    Mapping cognitive architectures : an information processing approach : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1998) Pech, Richard J
    This research attempts to answer the following question. How can the critical knowledge and mental processes used by people as they respond to their work demands and interact with their work environment, be identified and portrayed? This study uses an information processing model to focus on cognitively-based management competencies. The MAPA model, describes four crucial and interrelated stages in the recognition of what is thought to occur in human information processing. The resulting cognitive architectures reveal specific organisationally-valued knowledge, providing the basis for work-specific curriculum design. Organisational discrepancies of a cognitively-based nature are also identifiable. A sample of New Zealand Army officers (N=103), comprising lieutenants, captains, and majors, completed questionnaires about their work-related cognitive processes. The MAPA model has facilitated greater understanding of respondents' combined work-related knowledge and knowledge structures. The cognitive architectures identified by this research reveal that New Zealand Army officers have wide patterns of connectivity. This suggests that many theories are too simplistic in their descriptions of managerial and/or leadership behaviour. Prototype architectures devolved from the data illustrate a variety of cognitive activities appearing initially as people-oriented, such as listening, coaching, caring, and guiding, but which are instigated for the purpose of achieving the set task. This suggests that respondents perceive supportive Abilities to provide the most important method for achieving some tasks. This finding creates a theoretical paradox. Using commonly-held views on work orientations, it could be argued that some people have a task orientation while applying supportive behaviours in order to achieve that task. The stereotypical view of the task orientation is also disputed however, as the cognitive architectures resulting from this study indicate that concern with task completion is achieved predominantly through the use of what has been categorised as thinking functions, in that they represent problem solving and assessing Abilities. The findings suggest that army officers predominantly employ a deliberate information processing strategy of supportive behaviour in order to complete their goals. In summary, this study explores a scientific approach for the recognition of cognitively-based competencies of managerial-level personnel. The results suggest that twelve Accomplishments describe the cognitively-based managerial-level competencies most valued by the New Zealand Army. In the process of identifying these value-added attributes, some organisational idiosyncrasies have been detected that, it is argued, may ultimately jeopardise the New Zealand Army's attempts to successfully implement its stated war-fighting and command operating doctrines
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    Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of the effects of aging on memory in healthy young, middle-aged, and oldest-old adults : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2006) Lamont, Allison
    While a growing body of research indicates that older adults typically perform more poorly on many types of memory tasks than do younger adults, relatively little research has addressed the question of whether this trend continues unchanged into the late ninth and tenth decades of life. Such decrements in memory have been reported as linear declines from early adulthood up until about 80 years of age. Questions arise as to whether such memory declines slow or accelerate in very advanced aging, and to what extent differences are due to aging, per se, or variables that intervene between age and memory.To address these two questions, six memory types - verbal recall, nonverbal recall, short-term memory, working memory, face recognition, and prospective memory - were examined using both cross-sectional and longitudinal methodologies. The six types of memory and the influence of verbal processing speed, nonverbal processing speed, and intelligence were examined in mixed-gender groups of 20 - 40 (n = 40, M = 30.7, SD = 5.52), 50 - 70 (n = 44, M = 59.2, SD = 4.94), and 85+ year olds (n = 42, M = 87.8, SD = 2.43), at two points, the second occurring two years after the first. Each participant completed tests of word recall, geometric shapes recall, short-term memory (digit span), working memory (letter-number sequencing), face recognition, and prospective memory. Additionally, there were two processing speed tasks (Identical Pictures and Finding As), and the National Adult Reading Test of verbal fluency was used to estimate intelligence. The Mini-Mental State Examination and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) were used to screen for dementia and depression, respectively.At Time 1 testing the 85+ participants showed declines in all memory types (compared to the 20 - 40 year olds). Nonverbal recall (66.2% lower than the young group), working memory (46.2%), verbal recall (45%), and prospective memory (38.2%) produced the largest differences, short-term memory (12.3%) and face recognition (14.7%) the least. Two years later, the 85+ years old participants had shown further declines, relative to the 20 - 40 years group. Nonverbal recall (72.3% lower than the young group), prospective memory (63.2%), working memory (55.3%), and verbal recall (54.7%) continued to produce the largest decrements, with short-term memory (18.9%) and face recognition (19.8%) the least. The results for the young and middle participants did not change appreciably between Time 1 and Time 2. The difference between unadjusted scores and scores adjusted for intelligence, verbal processing speed, and nonverbal processing speed, increased markedly between Time 1 and Time 2 testing for the oldest-old participants.These findings support the view that while memory declines may be approximately linear from age 20 to 80 years, there is a sharp decline in most types of memory after the age of 85 years, recall and working memory suffering the most. Intelligence and processing speed have an effect on some types of memory, but age is by far the largest contributor to memory decline. Furthermore, as expected, all memory types declined over the two-year period, with prospective memory, verbal recall, nonverbal recall, and working memory showing the greatest declines. Short-term memory and face recognition declined at a noticeably slower rate.