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Retrieval practice is a learning strategy that has repeatedly been found to have positive effects on memory and learning. However, studies indicate that students rarely use retrieval practice on a voluntary basis. The objective of the present study was to examine students’ self-regulated use of retrieval practice, and to determine whether sex and individual differences in cognitive and non-cognitive aspects are related to optional use of practice testing. A classroom study was conducted with 146 upper-secondary school students taking courses in mathematics and Swedish. An ABAB design was used to compare students’ optional and non-optional use of retrieval practice (i.e., repeated online quizzing). Students performed cognitive tasks to assess working memory capacity and fluid intelligence and completed self-reports of non-cognitive factors related to school achievement, such as grit, need for cognition (NFC), conscientiousness and openness. Quiz use was then compared using paired- and independent-samples t-tests, and hierarchical linear regression analyses explored relations to individual differences. The results showed that students completed significantly fewer quizzes in the optional sections than in the non-optional sections, and that females completed significantly more optional quizzes than males in Swedish, but not in mathematics. Further, the results showed that conscientiousness predicted optional quiz use in mathematics, whereas sex, NFC, conscientiousness, and openness predicted quiz use in Swedish. To conclude, although the findings show a relatively low optional/self-regulated use of practice testing, in line with earlier research, they suggest that sex and non-cognitive factors, such as personality characteristics, can predict optional use of practice testing.

Retrieval practice is a learning technique that is known to produce enhanced long-term memory retention when compared to several other techniques. This difference in learning outcome is commonly called “the testing effect”. Yet there is little research on how individual differences in personality traits and working memory capacity moderate the size of the retrieval-practice benefits. The current study is a conceptual replication of a previous study, further investigating whether the testing effect is sensitive to individual differences in the personality traits Grit and Need for Cognition, and working memory capacity. Using a within-subjects design (N = 151), participants practiced 60 Swahili–Swedish word pairs (e.g., adhama–honor) through retrieval practice and re-studying. Learning was assessed at three time points: five minutes, one week, and four weeks after practice. The results revealed a significant testing effect at all three time points. Further, the results showed no association between the testing effect and the personality traits, or between the testing effect and working memory, at any time point. To conclude, retrieval practice seems to be a learning technique that is not moderated by individual differences in these specific personality traits or with working memory capacity, thus possibly beneficial for all students.

Retrieval practice is known to lead to better retention of a to-be-learned material than restudy (i.e., the testing effect). However, few studies have investigated retrieval practice in relation to working memory capacity (WMC) and personality characteristics such as grittiness (Grit) and need for cognition (NFC). In two experiments, we examined retrieval practice and restudy of Swahili–Swedish word pairs in relation to individual differences in Grit and NFC. In Experiment 1, using a between-subjects design, a significant main effect of retention interval was qualified by a Group × Retention Interval interaction. However, there were no effects of Grit or NFC. In Experiment 2, a within-subjects design was used, and a measure of WMC was included. The analyses revealed a testing effect; but again, WMC, Grit, and NFC were not significantly associated with performance. These results indicate that retrieval practice levels out the playing field regarding WMC, NFC, and Grit.

As Swedish law enforcement embraces interviewing techniques that rely on psychological concepts and interpersonal skills, the teaching of these main ideas needs to be a central part of police education. This presentation willdiscuss how concepts familiar in psychology are understood and taught within Swedish police education today. Usingmaterials from the Swedish police authority, teaching resources, and the scientific literature, this presentation aimsto show how police education is adopting psychological perspectives and how psychological research and educationcan benefit in training police. We will also present future studies to further develop and incorporate psychologicalperspectives in educating law enforcement.

A crucial part of the crime investigation process is the investigative interview. Each interview is aninstance of law enforcement and the public meeting to exchange information. Interviews thus carry agreat deal of weight in both the investigation and public relations. Although the main goal ofinterviewing is often to get information related to an investigation, interviews are also anopportunity for law enforcement to offer support, give information, gain trust, and connect withindividuals in the community. Previous research has found that a humane interviewing style thatfocuses on building trust, good communication, and remaining objective while listening to the otherperson’s account has advantages such as eliciting more detailed accounts and more truthfulinformation. This style of interviewing has also been shown to be strategically beneficial regardless ofif the interviewee is a suspect, witness, or victim. However, researchers are still debating how toimplement empathy and rapport-building behaviors in interviews. There is a great need for researchon how police officers acquire the core skills needed for good communication, building rapport, andestablishing trust during interviews. The aim of this project is to better understand how humane andempathetic interviewing is implemented in Swedish police education in order to achieve a largeremphasis on building and maintaining rapport, empathy, and emotion regulation. This project willuse both quantitative and qualitative methods to approach the research questions. The goal is tohelp the police both in getting as much information as possible, as well as improve the experiences ofthe interview for both the police and the interviewee. Understanding and implementing a morehumane approach to interviewing could help individual officers de-escalate tense situations andnavigate their own stress responses, as well as help strengthen community trust in policing wheninteracting with interviewees.

Swedish police are implementing a new model for investigative interviewing. Previous research has highlighted that investigative interviewing is difficult to operationalize and teach to recruits. This study aimed to understand what Swedish police teachers value as important interpersonal skills for investigative interviewing as well as what strategies and struggles these teachers face when teaching recruits. Interviews were conducted with six experienced interviewing teachers at Swedish police training programs. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The teachers described that taking the interviewee’s perspective and accepting responsibility to build rapport, as well as social and situational flexibility were important skills for interviewers to process. When describing their strategies and struggles in teaching, the teachers described the need to bridge theory and practice, train flexibility through diverse scenarios, adjust to students’ social maturity and ability to self-reflect, and work with limited resources. This study also highlights how interviewing teachers express a need for adequate time and resources to be able to help recruits develop the necessary skills for interviewing.

Purpose: Empathy has been widely theorized as an important ability in professions such as policing, in which to perform well individuals require multiple and interacting abilities, not least when resolving conflict situations. Even so, there are few studies investigating how subconstructs of empathy relate to other constructs such as general cognitive ability. The purpose of this paper is to establish, after evaluating psychometric properties, relationships among measures of empathy and cognitive ability in a sample of Swedish police students (n = 157).

Design/methodology/approach: Multiple latent variable models of how the different measures work to predict tasks that can be seen as proxies for the ability to understand another person’s situation and intentions are evaluated to determine the most robust relationship(s) within the data.

Findings: We find support for the psychometric properties reported in previous studies with the used instruments. We also find support for perspective-taking, a cognitive empathy subconstruct predicting the ability to recognize emotions, and also the affective part of empathy, predicting general cognitive ability. These findings are discussed at length in the paper.

Originality/value: This research adds more knowledge to the issue of how general cognitive ability relates to cognitive empathy and other subconstructs of empathy or Theory of Mind.

There are several self-reported instruments measuring one of the central aspects of empathy, perspective taking. Instruments developed to investigate the relation of perspective taking and objective tasks of theory of mind (ToM) are not as common. This is a significant shortcoming when aiming to use information gathered with self-report instruments in applied fields. The ability of perspective taking has been considered to be a crucial element in the professional profile of a police officer, but alternative approaches to further investigate the validity of the construct remain to be studied. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relation between how recruits perceive their own ability of perspective taking (self-reported) and how they perform in tasks associated with this ability.

The research design of this study was to administer instruments to about 200 police recruits in Sweden at two different occasions. The self-reported instrument was the first one administered. At the second occasion, tests based on tasks that could be considered more objective were administered to the same recruits. The instruments used were the adapted Swedish version of the Empathy Assessment Index (EAI), The Swedish version of the Reading the mind in the eyes test and an instrument that measures ToM based on different vignettes developed for a Swedish police context. The methodological procedure includes, instrument development, investigation of the association between the subjective measure and the more objective measures using CFA models.

There was an expectation that recruits reporting higher on the perspective taking ability would perform better in the more objective tasks. The findings support this expectation to a certain level, but the findings also reveal more information on this complex relation.

The main conclusions are that perspective taking is an important ability that ought to be measured comprising alternative approaches to be valid in applied settings.

Purpose

Perspective taking (PT), as part of the empathy concept, is an important ability in the police profession. It is important to understand how PT can be measured, but also whether it changes over time. The purpose of this paper is to compare the outcomes of three different measures of PT, and to see whether police students’ PT changes at different stages of their education.

Design/methodology/approach

Three measures, one self-reported and two objective tests, were administered to Swedish National Police recruits at three distinct stages of their police training. The outcomes of the measures were psychometrically analyzed, after which associations between measures and between-group differences were assessed.

Findings

The result showed that the measures provided results that were in line with what had been reported in earlier studies. There were no significant correlations between the total scores of the three measures, yet students who graded their abilities higher on the subjective instrument did perform better on one of the objective tests. The findings also showed that recruits in later parts of their training self-reported significantly lower PT values than recruits at the beginning of their training.

Originality/value

This study adds knowledge on the ability of different types of instruments to measure PT and how this construct may develop over time among police recruits.

The testing effect, defined as the positive effect of retrieval practice (i.e., self-testing) on long-term memory retention relative to other ways to support learning, is a robust empirical phenomenon. Despite substantial scientific evidence for the testing effect, less is known about its effectiveness in relation to individual differences in cognitive ability. In the present study, we examine whether the effect of retrieval practice is beneficial independent of cognitive ability using behavioral and brain imaging data. In a within-subject design, upper-secondary students learned Swahili–Swedish word pairs through retrieval practice and study. The testing effects were assessed at a direct test and for a subsample after 1- and 4-weeks retention intervals, respectively. Another subsample performed the 1-week retention test during functional MRI (fMRI). Memory retention was analyzed in relation to an educationally relevant composite score dividing participants into low, intermediate, and high cognitive-ability groups. We provide behavioral evidence that the testing effect is independent of cognitive ability. The fMRI findings confirmed a general effectiveness of retrieval practice by showing that brain regions associated with successful retrieval of conceptual representations and semantic processing were more strongly engaged after retrieval practice in all cognitive-ability groups. It is argued that the advantages of retrieval practice should be conveyed to all teachers and students.

This paper focuses on reliability in assessment of prior learning (APL) related to higher education. APL refers to a process where adults’ prior learning, formal as well as informal, is assessed and acknowledged. In higher education APL is used for the purpose of gaining admission, advanced standing or credits. In this paper studies investigating reliability in APL are presented. The studies provide data of inter- and intrarater reliability among assessors in a specific APL scheme used in higher education. Percentage of agreement and Cohen’s kappa were used to estimate reliability, and the results show that the agreement between assessors, i.e. interrater reliability, is poorer compared to the agreement on repeated assessment by the same assessor, i.e. intrarater reliability. Further, the results reveal that there are differences in agreement between different aspects of prior learning. A conclusion is that reliability in this type of assessment ought to be further investigated.

Assessment of prior learning (APL) represents the task to identify and acknowledge an individual’s knowledge and skills regardless of how it has been obtained. In higher education this type of assessment is primarily used for the purpose of awarding access, credits or advanced standing. Because of the impact the results from APL have on the future working career for individuals claiming APL, it is of great importance that these result of APL is valid. The question of interest in this thesis is to what extent APL in higher education is a valid assessment.

The thesis is written in the field of educational measurement and comprises four papers and an extensive introduction with summaries of the papers. The most recent views of validity theory were used as the general theoretical framework in all papers, and all papers are concerned with APL in higher education. Study I reviews the research area of APL in higher education from a validity perspective. The general conclusion from the review is that the majority of the studies conducted in this area primarily provide theoretical rationales and theories for a variety of APL practices, and that there is a need for empirically based studies examining and evaluating validity of APL. Studies II, III and IV are empirical studies based on, and exemplified with, an APL scheme related to higher education in Sweden. Study II examines validity issues identified from claimants (individuals or students claiming APL) view of APL. The claimants’ experiences from the specific APL scheme were examined using a questionnaire developed for that purpose. Conclusions drawn from the results are that possible threats to validity may exist in the administration of APL procedures, as well as in consequences of APL. Study III focuses on validity of admission decisions based on APL. The study examines decisions made by different higher education institutions for approximately 600 individuals applying for higher education based on their prior learning. The results show that the existing practice of APL needs improvements in order to obtain validity and trustworthiness in the decisions made in relation to APL. Finally, Study IV focuses on reliability in APL related to higher education. The study provides data of inter- and intra-rater reliability among judges in the specific APL scheme. The results show a lack of especially inter-rater reliability, and a conclusion is that reliability in this type of assessment should be further investigated.

The general conclusion from this thesis is that there is a need to take validity issues in APL seriously, and that APL in higher education may not be as valid as it could be.

The process of giving official acknowledgment to formal, informal and non-formal prior learning is commonly labelled as assessment, accreditation or recognition of prior learning (APL), representing a practice that is expanding in higher education in many countries. This paper focuses specifically on the assessment part of APL, which undoubtedly is central to the whole process, through a review of research in this area and an analysis of the reviewed studies from a validity perspective. The research reviewed (published 1990–2007) is categorised into empirical as well as more theoretically oriented publications, with a quantitative dominance of the latter. According to the validity analysis, a majority of the studies conducted in this area relate to the evidential basis of test interpretation and use, primarily providing theoretical rationales and theories for a variety of practices. The consequential basis of test interpretation and use has not been studied to any larger extent, resulting in a lack of both theoretical and empirical studies dealing with this aspect of validity.

The present study originates from the fact that a new curriculum for the Swedish driver education is introduced in March 2006 and it is important to evaluate the effects of the change. One part of the evaluation is to compare the existing curriculum with the new curriculum. To carry through such a comparison reliably and in a relevant manner some type of model is required. Therefore, the ambition of this study was to find a model or models that sufficiently can describe the content in the present and the new curriculum. The present curriculum for the driver education consists of cognitive and psychomotor objectives. In the new curriculum objectives in the area of metacognition are added. A literature review was conducted for the purpose to find a model in the area of cognitive and psychomotor skills that can be implemented on objectives in the existing and the new curriculum. The results show that Bloom’s revised taxonomy (2001) is suitable to describe the cognitive and metacognitive objectives. Further, a integrated model, that involves both a psychomotor taxonomi, Simpson’s (1966), and a dimension of knowledge from the revised taxonomy, is suggested as suitable to describe the psychomotor objectives.

A new curriculum has been introduced for the Swedish driver education. It is important to evaluate the effects of the change and one part of that evaluation is to compare the old curriculum with the new curriculum. To carry through such a comparison in a relevant and reliably manner some kind of model is required. In a literature review (Stenlund, 2006), two models were suggested as suitable for the comparison. One model, Bloom’s revised taxonomy (2001), was suggested for description of the theoretical objectives and one model, an integrated model (a fusion of Simpson’s psychomotor taxonomy (1966) and the dimension of knowledge from Bloom’s revised taxonomy) was suggested for description of the practical objectives.

The purpose for the present study was to test these two theoretical models empirically to find out if they are reliable and useable as tools to describe the content in the old and the new curriculum. This was done in two steps. In the first step an inter-rater reliability study was conducted. The second step was a consensus discussion for the purpose to further clear the models descriptions and to bring about a consistent classification of all objectives. The results from the inter-rater reliability study showed a moderate or god reliability for both models. Further, the results from consensus discussion showed that all objectives could be classified in the models and that an agreement could be obtained regarding the definitions of the various aspects in the models. The models also provide a clear and varying picture of the content in the old and the new curriculum. The conclusion of the empirical tests is that both models are suitable to describe the content in the curriculum for the Swedish driver education.

Assessment of prior learning (APL) refers a process where adults’ prior learning, formal as well as informal, is assessed and acknowledged. In the first section of this paper, APL and current conceptions of validity in assessments and its evaluation are presented. It is argued that participants in the assessment are an important source of information for the validation of the assessment. In the following section participants experiences from a particular APL scheme are evaluated using a questionnaire developed for that purpose. The questionnaire provides data on individuals’ perceptions of the procedure and result of the APL scheme. The results are described, analysed and discussed from a validity perspective. Conclusions drawn from the results are that possible threats to validity can exist in the administration of APL procedures, as well as in consequences of APL.

Assessment of prior learning (APL) refers to the process of validating individuals’ learning in a variety of contexts, representing a relatively new practice in many countries. In higher education APL is used to receive access and credits based on skills and knowledge acquired mainly outside of formal academic settings. This paper focuses on validity of admission decisions based on this type of assessment in higher education. The study examines decisions made by higher education institutions for approximately 600 applicants who have used APL in order to receive admission to, and credits in the vocational teacher education program in Sweden. The results are analysed and presented in relation to a validity discussion. A conclusion is that the existing practice of APL needs improvements in order to obtain validity and trustworthiness in the decisions made in relation to APL.

This report is about validation, or recognition/accreditation of prior learning, in the Nordic countries – Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. The aim of the report is to analyse cases of validation practice in the Nordic countries in relation to a number of central concepts (see below), and to present a review of Nordic research on validation.

The review of research shows that validation research has mainly been conducted in Sweden, with a few additional examples from the other Nordic countries. This research has applied varying theoretical perspectives to interpret different aspects of the validation process. Theories on learning, governing, communication, gender, organising, and validity, have been used to develop the understanding of validation. Considering the efforts made for developing validation in practice, further development could be expected also when it comes to research. This could contribute further to understanding and development of Nordic validation practice and conditions for lifelong learning.

The cases from validation practice in the Nordic countries have been selected to cover both cases of validation targeting specific groups, and cases relating to flexibility in working life. The central concepts that have been the starting point in the analysis are inclusion, mobility, flexibility, empowerment, and employability. The result shows good examples of validation that empower and include specific target groups, such as immigrants, prisoners, unskilled, and persons with reading and writing problems, in working life. This is often implemented by improving their formal educational level, and thereby their employability. The cases further show that initiatives to improve mobility and flexibility are taken both in the private sector, e.g. banking, finance, and industry, and in the public sector, e.g. among paramedics and mail staff. However, there are also problems on a societal level, e.g. related to structural economic aspects, and on an individual level, e.g. resistance and suspicion in relation to the educational system, and difficulties in communication, problems that could be barriers in the development of the validation practice.

This study investigated whether different groups of test-takers vary in their reported test-taking behaviour in a high-stakes test situation. A between-group design (N = 1129) was used to examine whether high and low achievers, as well as females and males, differ in their use of test-taking strategies, and in level of reported test anxiety and motivation. The results showed differences between high and low achievers on a number of test-taking strategies, where high achievers reported using successful strategies to a higher extent. There were also gender differences: females, for example, reported using random guessing to a higher extent than males. Further, low achievers, especially females, reported significantly higher levels of test anxiety than high achievers, and high achievers reported slightly higher levels of motivation when compared to low achievers. To conclude, test-taking behaviour might bring additional variance to test scores, whether or not this is irrelevant variance is discussed.

A new curriculum has been introduced for the Swedish driver education with the intention to (among others) include higher levels of skills and knowledge. The purpose of the present study was to describe and compare the old and the new curriculum for the Swedish driver education by using an instrument specific for this purpose. Bloom’s revised taxonomy and an integrated taxonomy were empirically tested and confirmed reliable and useable as instruments for describing the content in both the old and new curriculum. Three raters classified the objectives in the curriculum with the aid of the instruments and the results showed changes in the required knowledge and skills. One of the major changes was the decreasing demands of the cognitive skill remember and factual knowledge and the increased emphasis on the cognitive skill evaluate and on metacognitive knowledge in the theoretical objectives in the new curriculum. Further, the results showed that the emphasis on the psychomotor skill of mechanism has decreased in the practical objectives. The conclusion of this analysis is that the curriculum of the Swedish driver education has developed as intended. Though, in an education system it is important to have an agreement between goals of education and measurement. In future studies, it is therefore important to examine the alignment between objectives and measurement.

In 2006 a new curriculum for driver education and a new theory test were introduced in Sweden. As the driver education system is a criterion-referenced system, it is important that there is a correspondence between the curriculum, education and the test. The main purpose of the present study was to examine the alignment between the old curriculum for driver education in Sweden and the old theory test, as well as the alignment between new curriculum and the new theory test using Bloom’s revised taxonomy. In addition, the purpose was to examine the interrater reliability when categorizing theory test items into Bloom’s taxonomy. The interrater reliability of judges categorizing the items into Bloom’s taxonomy was moderate to good for the old and new theory test, but somewhat better for the new test. The examination of alignment used four different indicators: content, cognitive complexity, balance and range. Results demonstrated better alignment between the old curriculum and the old test than between the new curriculum and the new test. The conclusion was that the curriculum has changed but that the new theory test still resembles the old test to a great extent. To improve alignment, the new theory test has to be revised in accordance with the curriculum.

The present study concerns an experiment where part of the Swedish Road Administration’s right to the driving-license examination was delegated to the driver education. During the experimental period test takers that failed the practical driving test, due to an isolated shortcoming, were given the opportunity to be retested in a traffic school, with focus mainly on that shortcoming.

The main purpose of this study was to examine the definition of the isolated shortcoming and to obtain indications of whether the judgements of these are as alike as possible. Another purpose was to study the attitudes and experience of participants in the experiment through interviews. Furthermore, the intention was to use available statistics from the experiment to examine to what extent the parties involved, driver examiners and driver instructors, where able to make reliable and relevant judgements regarding the isolated shortcoming.

One conclusion is that the definition of the isolated shortcoming cannot be considered to be reliable since available statistics, as well as results from the interviews, indicate insecurity about the definition. Another conclusion from the interviews is that the overall attitude toward the experiment was positive among driver examiners and driver instructors.

The personality trait Need for Cognition (NFC) has been studied for many years, and found to be important for individuals’ educational achievement. The original NFC-scale was developed in the eighties, and during the following decade the scale was translated and adapted into a number of other languages. A renewed interest for the personality trait of NFC has made these scales interesting to use. It is though vital that instruments used for studies of individual differences in the area of educational research, or in any other area, can portray valid results today. The aim of the present paper was to evaluate validity and reliability of the short version of the Mental Effort Tolerance Questionnaire, a Swedish adaption of the NFC-scale made in 1991, which has not been previously evaluated. This study involved 420 young students, and the evaluation of reliability includes a study of temporal stability (test-retest), as well as internal stability. Further, the evaluation of validity includes construct and criterion validity. Regarding reliability, the results showed a test-retest reliability coefficient of .88 (n = 108), and an internal stability (Cronbach’s alpha) of .88 (n = 420). Evaluation of construct validity found evidence for a five factor dimensional structure (n = 420), discriminant validity to measures of general intelligence (r = .25; n = 122), working memory (r = .22; n =164), and the personality trait Grit (r = .26; n = 169). Finally, criterion validity was found for grades (r =.35; n =125). Overall, the results of the evaluation show that the inferences made from the results of the short version of the Swedish NFC-scale exhibits satisfactory reliability and validity, suggesting that the questionnaire can be used in educational contexts. The questionnaire might, however, benefit from being even more shortened.

This paper focuses on the factors that are likely to play a role in individual learning outcomes from group discussions, and it includes a comparison featuring test-enhanced learning. A between-groups design (N = 98) was used to examine the learning effects of feedback if provided to discussion groups, and to examine whether group discussions benefit learning when compared to test-enhanced learning over time. The results showed that feedback does not seem to have any effect if provided to a discussion group,and that test-enhanced learning leads to better learning than the discussion groups, independent of retention interval. Moreover, we examined whether memory and learning might be influenced by the participants’ need for cognition (NFC). The results showed that those scoring high on NFC remembered more than those who scored low. To conclude, testing trumps discussion groups from a learning perspective, and the discussion groups were also the least beneficial learning context for those scoring low on NFC.

Objectives: Interventions for reducing air pollution are important means for improving public health. The role of psychological factors in understanding annoyance and health symptoms due to air pollution is limited and further investigation is required. This study aimed to investigate the effects of an intervention to reduce air pollution (predominantly dust and soot) with respect to perceived pollution, risk perception, annoyance and health symptoms. Another objective was to test a model that describes interrelationsbetween air pollution, perceived pollution, health risk perception, annoyance and health symptoms.

Study design: An interventional, population-based questionnaire study.

Methods: Surveys were performed before (pre-test) and after (post-test) closure of a sinter plant. Instead,pellets were shipped to the community’s harbour for steel production. Individuals in the community aged 18–75 years were selected at random for participation in the pre-test (n ¼ 738; 74% of the sample participated) and post-test (n ¼ 684; 68% of the sample participated). The two samples were representative of the populations at the two points in time, and thus not identical.

Results: After the sinter plant was closed, the environment was perceived as being less dusty, the residentswere more positive in their risk perception, and they reported less annoyance due to dust, soot andodorous substances. No difference was found for health symptoms between the pre-test and the posttest.Based on path analyses, a model is proposed of inter-relations between air pollution, perceived pollution, health risk perception, annoyance and health symptoms.

Conclusion: The intervention was successful with respect to perceived dust and soot pollution; toannoyance attributed to dust, soot and odorous substances; and to risk perception. The path analysessuggest that perceived pollution and health risk perception play important roles in understanding and predicting environmentally induced annoyance and health symptoms.

To be successful in a high-stakes testing situation is desirable for any test taker. It has been found that, beside content knowledge, test-taking behavior, such as risktaking strategies, motivation, and test anxiety, is important for test performance. The purposes of the present study were to identify and group test takers with similar patterns of test-taking behavior and to explore how these groups differ in terms of background characteristics and test performance in a high-stakes achievement test context. A sample of the Swedish Scholastic Assessment Test test takers (N = 1891) completed a questionnaire measuring their motivation, test anxiety, and risk-taking behavior during the test, as well as background characteristics. A two-step cluster analysis revealed three clusters of test takers with significantly different test-taking behavior profiles: a moderate (n = 741), a calm risk taker (n = 637), and a test anxious risk averse (n = 513) profile. Group difference analyses showed that the calm risk taker profile (i.e., a high degree of risktaking together with relatively low levels of test anxiety and motivation during the test) was the most successful profile from a test performance perspective, while the test anxious risk averse profile (i.e., a low degree of risk-taking together with high levels of test anxiety and motivation) was the least successful. Informing prospective test takers about these insights can potentially lead to more valid interpretations and inferences based on the test scores.

This study examined whether practice testing with short-answer (SA) items benefits learning over time compared to practice testing with multiple-choice (MC) items, and rereading the material. More specifically, the aim was to test the hypotheses of retrieval effort and transfer appropriate processing by comparing retention tests with respect to practice testing format. To adequately compare SA and MC items, the MC items were corrected for random guessing. With a within-group design, 54 students (mean age = 16 years) first read a short text, and took four practice tests containing all three formats (SA, MC and statements to read) with feedback provided after each part. The results showed that both MC and SA formats improved short- and long-term memory compared to rereading. More importantly, practice testing with SA items is more beneficial for learning and long-term retention, providing support for retrieval effort hypothesis. Using corrections for guessing and educational implications are discussed.

In many educational programmes preparing students for professions where human interaction is central, the development of empathic ability is of importance. The aim of this study was to explore attitudes towards the importance of empathy in police work among police students. The intention was also to investigate if attitudes would change over time during education, and whether gender differences could be observed. A modified version of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy was administered to 355 Swedish police students in a mixed method design, including both between- and within-groups comparisons. Attitudes toward the importance of empathy were measured before and after a practical internship. The result showed that the students in general found empathic ability important, but also that they did not change their attitudes over time .The results were conflicting when it came to gender differences. There was no significant result for the between-group sample, but female students reported significantly higher compared to male students in the between-within group. This research is valuable in the discussion on how “soft skills” such as empathic ability can be assessed and developed in students in preparation for professional practice, and can also be useful in educational evaluation and planning.

Despite compelling evidence for test-enhanced learning as superior compared to other pedagogical methods, less is known about how cognitive level affects performance.

The beneficial effects has been ascribed to an episodic context account; in which subjects rely on the use of a temporal context while retrieving from memory.

We examined individual differences in episodic memory in relation to different learning methods.

Participants (n=103) were randomized to three groups: testing with feedback, group-discussion with or without feedback. The to-be-learned material was a chapter from a psychology textbook.

Learning were assessed immediately, one and, at four weeks after initial learning.

Results revealed that the testing-group performed significantly better across time compared to both group discussion groups. A significant positive relationship between episodic memory and learning for both group-discussion groups, but not the testing-group. The results indicates that individual differences in episodic memory is less sensitive when learning from repeated testing - suggesting that test-enhanced learning is equally beneficial for all individuals independent of cognitive ability. In contrast learning from group discussions relies more on individual differences in episodic memory, so those with better episodic memory learns better compared to those with lower episodic memory.