Robison Matthew K, Celaya Xavier, Ball B Hunter, Brewer Gene A
Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA.
Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, 501 S. Nedderman Dr., Box 19528, Arlington, TX, 76019, USA.
Psychon Bull Rev. 2024 Apr;31(2):670-685. doi: 10.3758/s13423-023-02369-0. Epub 2023 Aug 31.
Latent variable analyses of cognitive abilities are among the major means by which cognitive psychologists test theories regarding the structure of human cognition. Models are fit to observed variance-covariance structures, and the fit of those models are compared to assess the merits of competing theories. However, an often unconsidered and potentially important methodological issue is the precise sequence in which tasks are delivered to participants. Here we empirically tested whether differences in task sequences systematically affect the observed factor structure. A large sample (N = 587) completed a battery of 12 cognitive tasks measuring four constructs: working memory, long-term memory, attention control, and fluid intelligence. Participants were assigned to complete the assessment in one of three sequences: fixed and grouped by construct vs. fixed and interleaved across constructs vs. random by participant. We generated and tested two hypotheses: grouping task sequences by construct (i.e., administering clusters of tasks measuring a cognitive construct consecutively) would (1) systematically increase factor loadings and (2) systematically decrease interfactor correlations. Neither hypothesis was supported. The measurement models were largely invariant across the three conditions, suggesting that latent variable analyses are robust to such subtle methodological differences as task sequencing.
认知能力的潜在变量分析是认知心理学家检验有关人类认知结构理论的主要手段之一。模型与观察到的方差 - 协方差结构相拟合，并比较这些模型的拟合度以评估相互竞争理论的优劣。然而，一个经常未被考虑且可能很重要的方法学问题是向参与者呈现任务的精确顺序。在此，我们通过实证检验任务顺序的差异是否会系统地影响观察到的因素结构。一个大样本（N = 587）完成了一组12项认知任务，这些任务测量四个构念：工作记忆、长期记忆、注意力控制和流体智力。参与者被分配以三种顺序之一完成评估：按构念固定分组与按构念固定交错排列与按参与者随机排列。我们生成并检验了两个假设：按构念对任务顺序进行分组（即连续进行测量认知构念的任务组）会（1）系统地增加因素负荷，以及（2）系统地降低因素间相关性。两个假设均未得到支持。测量模型在三种条件下基本不变，这表明潜在变量分析对于诸如任务顺序这样细微的方法学差异具有稳健性。
