The Racial Attitudes Index (RAI) measures a child's racial attitudes. Designed for children aged 5-9 years, the RAI is delivered over the Internet using Audio Computer Assisted Self-Interviewing (ACASI). Unlike traditional binary forced-choice instruments, the RAI uses an expanded response format permitting a more nuanced understanding of patterns of children's racial attitudes. In addition to establishing psychometric evidence of the RAI technical adequacy, hypotheses about RAI item response patterns were tested. The racial attitudes of 336 Black and White children in grades K-3 were assessed using a forced-choice instrument (Preschool Racial Attitudes Measure II) and the RAI. Findings from this study indicate measures obtained with the RAI are technically adequate, and the measure functions invariantly across racial groups. Also, patterns of children's racial attitudes measured with the RAI are more nuanced than those obtained using the forced-choice response format.Keywords Racial and ethnic attitude and relations . Prejudice . Childhood development . Social cognitionEvidence from explicit attitudes research shows that young children display racial biases as early as 3 to 5 years of age
Sciences that use the null hypothesis statistical test continue to contend with type I errors (false positives) and type II errors (false negatives). In addition to those errors, statisticians and researchers have identified type III and type IV errors, which focus a scientist’s attention on the larger logical and epistemic outcomes of statistical decision-making that accompany either rejecting or retaining the null hypothesis. Specifically, type III and IV errors interrogate the match between theory and measurement on one side and statistical procedures on the other side. Type III errors occur when scientists use the correct statistical procedures on the wrong theoretical organization or operationalization of variables (viz., theory misspecification). In contrast, type IV errors occur when scientists use the incorrect statistical procedures (viz., evaluation misspecification) on the correct theoretical organization or operationalization of variables. Examples are provided to illustrate each error, as are recommendations to minimize the occurrence of these errors.
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