Comparing two forms of a childhood perspective-taking measure using CFA and IRT.

Deficits in perspective-taking ability have been linked to social problems associated with disorders such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and conduct disorder. Even subtle deficits in perspective-taking are related to social adjustment and moral development. A common measure of perspective-taking abilities in children is the "Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task" ("Eyes task"; Baron-Cohen, Wheelwright, Spong, Scahill, & Lawson, 2001).

Worldview implications of believing in free will and/or determinism: politics, morality, and punitiveness.

Objective: We used the FAD-Plus to investigate the association of free will belief (FWB) with political orientation, moral attitudes, and punitiveness. Other goals included (a) confirming the independence of believing in free will and determinism and (b) contrasting scientific determinism with fatalistic determinism.

Method: Three studies were conducted via online questionnaires.

The FAD-Plus: measuring lay beliefs regarding free will and related constructs.

We describe the development of FAD-Plus, a 27-item measure of lay beliefs in free will and 3 closely related constructs: scientific determinism, fatalistic determinism, and unpredictability. Previously published measures included only a subset of these variables and tended to assume an a priori pattern of relations among these 4 beliefs. In Study 1, exploratory factor analyses suggested relatively independent factors.