Investigating the Structure of Intelligence Using Latent Variable and Psychometric Network Modeling: A Commentary and Reanalysis.

In a recent publication in the Dennis McFarland mischaracterized previous research using latent variable and psychometric network modeling to investigate the structure of intelligence. Misconceptions presented by McFarland are identified and discussed. We reiterate and clarify the goal of our previous research on network models, which is to improve compatibility between psychological theories and statistical models of intelligence.

Psychometric Network Analysis of the Hungarian WAIS.

The positive manifold-the finding that cognitive ability measures demonstrate positive correlations with one another-has led to models of intelligence that include a general cognitive ability or general intelligence (). This view has been reinforced using factor analysis and reflective, higher-order latent variable models. However, a new theory of intelligence, Process Overlap Theory (POT), posits that is not a psychological attribute but an index of cognitive abilities that results from an interconnected network of cognitive processes.

Adults of all ages experience increased tip-of-the-tongue states under ostensible evaluative observation.

In previous research, young adults who were told they were being observed and evaluated reported more tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) instances than those who were not. We first tested whether the same effect is obtained for older adult participants, and then compared the effects of ostensible evaluative observation on word retrieval for adults across the lifespan. Participants in the observed condition were told they were being evaluated throughout the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) procedure and a word retrieval task, whereas participants in the unobserved condition performed similar tasks with no mention of observation or evaluation.

Tip of the Tongue States Increase Under Evaluative Observation.

We tested the frequent assumption that the difficulty of word retrieval increases when a speaker is being observed and evaluated. We modified the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) so that participants believed that its evaluative observation components continued throughout the duration of a subsequent word retrieval task, and measured participants' reported tip of the tongue (TOT) states. Participants in this TSST condition experienced more TOTs than participants in a comparable, placebo TSST condition in which there was no suggestion of evaluative observation.