Search

Girls often outperform boys on measures of literacy achievement. This gender gap in literacy performance has been observed to be persistent over developmental time, consistent across multiple domains of literacy, and widely spread geographically. It is sometimes suggested that boys' achievement in the literacy domain might be improved by the availability of reading materials that are designed to engage boys' attention, such as electronic books with interactive features. We addressed the question of boys' versus girls' engagement with reading materials by observing 20 small groups of boys or girls interacting with an electronic book and then a paper book. The children's engagement with the book in each case was coded using Noldus software. Engagement was operationalized in terms of eye gaze (looking at book or reading partner vs. elsewhere), handling (i.e., touching or pointing at book or partner with engaging as opposed to prohibitive actions), and verbal behaviors (i.e., reading, paraphrasing, or talking about the book when compared to not talking or off-task talk). Total time and percent time spent engaged with each book was examined by gender. The results revealed greater nonverbal engagement with the ebook compared to the paper book but greater verbal engagement with the paper book compared to the ebook. No differences in engagement by gender were observed however.

BACKGROUND: There are multiple issues that arise when researchers focus on and only report “statistical significance” of study findings. An important element that is often not included in reports is a discussion of clinical relevance. OBJECTIVES: The authors address issues related to significance, the use of effect sizes, confidence or credible intervals, and the inclusion of clinical relevance in reports of research findings. METHODS: Measures of magnitude, precision, and relevance such as effect sizes, confidence intervals (CIs), and clinically relevant effects are described in detail. Additionally, recommendations for reporting and evaluating effect sizes and CIs are included. Example scenarios are presented to illustrate the interplay of statistical significance and clinical relevance. RESULTS: there are several issues that may arise when significance is the focus of clinical research reporting. One issue is the lack of attention to nonsignificant findings in published works even though findings demonstrate clinical relevance. Another issue is that significance is interpreted as clinical relevance. As well, clinically relevant results from small sample studies are often not considered for publication, and, thus, findings might not be available for meta-analysis. DISCUSSION: Findings in research reports should address effect sizes and clinical relevance and significance. Failure to publish clinically relevant effects and CIs may preclude the inclusion of clinically relevant studies in systematic reviews and meta-analyses thereby limiting the advancement of evidence-based practice. Several accessible resources for researchers to generate, report, and evaluate measures of magnitude, precision, and relevance are included in this article.

It remains to be determined how different inputs for memory-encoding, such as the use of paper notebooks or mobile devices, affect retrieval processes. We compared three groups of participants who read dialogues on personal schedules and wrote down the scheduled appointments on a calendar using a paper notebook (Note), an electronic tablet (Tablet), or a smartphone (Phone). After the retention period for an hour including an interference task, we tested recognition memory of those appointments with visually presented questions in a retrieval task, while scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging. We obtained three major results. First, the duration of writing down schedules was significantly shorter for the Note group than the Tablet and Phone groups, and accuracy was much higher for the Note group in easier (i.e., more straightforward) questions. Because the input methods were equated as much as possible between the Note and Tablet groups, these results indicate that the cognitive processes for the Note group were deeper and more solid. Second, brain activations for all participants during the retrieval phase were localized in the bilateral hippocampus, precuneus, visual cortices, and language-related frontal regions, confirming the involvement of verbalized memory retrieval processes for appointments. Third, activations in these regions were significantly higher for the Note group than those for the Tablet and Phone groups. These enhanced activations for the Note group could not be explained by general cognitive loads or task difficulty, because overall task performances were similar among the groups. The significant superiority in both accuracy and activations for the Note group suggested that the use of a paper notebook promoted the acquisition of rich encoding information and/or spatial information of real papers and that this information could be utilized as effective retrieval clues, leading to higher activations in these specific regions.

Drawing-to-learn is a specific learning/reading strategy studied across many domains. In response to gaps in our knowledge about drawing-to-learn, we conducted a systematic meta-analysis of the literature published since the influential 2005 Van Meter and Garner literature review. We analyzed the benefits of directed learner-generated visual representations such as sketching, drawing, or computer-assisted creation of a full or partial static image. Forty-one peer-reviewed articles were screened in, together with 9 dissertations and 2 other documents; published from 2005 to 2018, these included 53 studies and 166 effects based on 8111 participants. The overall effect of drawing-to-learn across all dependent variable types (factual, inferential, and transfer) and both types of effects—comparing different types of drawing and comparing drawing to non-drawing conditions—was a significant g = 0.69. The overall effect was significant but differed across outcomes (g = 0.85 for factual, g = 0.44 for inferential, and g = 0.22 for transfer). Analyses across 6 moderators are presented. Not only does the literature continue to show that drawing-to-learn is better than the status quo, but directed drawing improves factual as well as inferential and transfer learning. Finally, researchers have found ways to improve drawing-to-learn instruction so that it can be even more effective than the simple directive to make a drawing.

Neuropsychological tests undergo periodic revision intended to improve psychometric properties, normative data, relevance of stimuli, and ease of administration. In addition, new tests are developed to evaluate psychological and neuropsychological constructs, often purporting to improve evaluation effectiveness. However, there is limited professional guidance to neuropsychologists concerning the decision to adopt a revised version of a test and/or replace an older test with a new test purporting to measure the same or overlapping constructs. This paper describes ethical and professional issues related to the selection and use of older versus newer psychological and neuropsychological tests, with the goal of promoting appropriate test selection and evidence-based decision making.Ethical and professional issues were reviewed and considered.The availability of a newer version of a test does not necessarily render obsolete prior versions of the test for purposes that are empirically supported, nor should continued empirically supported use of a prior version of a test be considered unethical practice. Until a revised or new test has published evidence of improved ability to help clinicians to make diagnostic determinations, facilitate treatment, and/or assess change over time, the choice to delay adoption of revised or new tests may be viewed as reasonable and appropriate. Recommendations are offered to facilitate decisions about the adoption of revised and new tests. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of individual neuropsychologists to determine which tests best meet their patients' needs, and to be able to support their decisions with empirical evidence and sound clinical judgment.

Abstract. Previous studies revealed that performance in paper-and-pencil tests of attention, such as the d2-R test, improves with practice, though the sources of these practice effects are yet unknown. Practice effects in psychometric tests are a serious problem because they impede the evaluation of test performance and constrain the utility of these tests. This study addresses the role of target-specific learning for practice in a d2-like paper-and-pencil test of attention. Two variants of a d2-like test, which exclusively differed in the set of target stimuli, were constructed. Participants were tested on two days separated by one week. Participants in the control condition searched for the same targets (among the same distractors) in each session, whereas participants in the test group searched for different targets (among the same distractors) in each session. Results showed practice benefits in both groups, but benefits were larger in the control group than in the test group. The results suggest that practice improves the processing of target features in paper-and-pencil tests of attention. Hence, using two versions with different sets of targets may effectively reduce practice effects in d2-like tests of attention. Further implications of the findings are discussed.

The study is a vital instance to merge the psychology and the computer science disciplines to provide benefits about the developments of the theory of mind (ToM) skills of and interaction with for the students with neurodevelopmental disorders (SWND). In this research, a traditional two-dimensional (2D) method (paper), a 2D display touch screen and the three-dimensional (3D) [augmented reality (AR)] visual displays based on the computer are constructed for the SWND to do the ToM test questions. In this work, The Little Prince story written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is adapted to the ToM test questions to measure the SWND's ToM abilities. In this novel approach, three environments: a traditional 2D method (paper), the 2D display touch screen, and the AR visual display environments are experienced by the SWND. The experimental results are compared according to SWND's ToM success ratios, their ToM perspective skills', their satisfaction on these different test environments. This research suggests the novel approach to measure the ToM abilities of the SWND with human-computer interaction aspect. This article displays the positive effects of the 2D display touch screen and the AR usage on the Tom Test for the SWND.

Contains fulltext : 201967.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) Objective: In cognitive neuroscience, well-controlled and highly specific paradigms have been developed to measure cognitive processes over the last decades, often using computer-assisted presentation and response registration. This approach is in contrast with the traditional paper-and-pencil tests used in clinical neuropsychology, which typically assess cognitive function in a less specific manner, often even at the level of a cognitive domain. As a result, important aspects of cognitive (dys)function may be missed during a neuropsychological assessment. This paper focuses on the main challenges that need to be overcome in order to successfully integrate experimental paradigms from cognitive neuroscience into the clinical practice of neuropsychologists. Method: Six challenges are discussed: (i) experimental paradigms are often lengthy and may be overly specific; (ii) technical limitations even today hamper their application in clinics; (iii) the psychometric properties of methods used in cognitive neuroscience are under-examined or poor; (iv) many paradigms from cognitive neuroscience rely on reaction times rather than accuracy, limiting their use in the many brain-injured patients with processing speed deficits; (v) the predictive and ecological validity of these paradigms often unclear; (vi) technological progress (e.g. Moore's law) seriously affects the continuous availability of experimental computerized assessment methods. Conclusion: Both cognitive neuroscientists and clinical neuropsychologists should work together to develop and validate novel paradigms for use in clinical assessments that are platform-independent, reliable and valid, user friendly and easy to use in clinical practice. 12 p.

The present study examined whether there is a difference in comprehension when reading from computer-based text versus reading from paper-based text and whether there is any benefit from the ability to take notes and highlight text while reading. In two experiments, students’ reading times and comprehension scores were compared between electronic text and paper text excerpted from a popular psychology textbook. In the first experiment, students were only allowed to read, while the second experiment allowed the use of highlighting and note-taking. The results revealed no significant difference in reading times and comprehension scores across conditions. More important, there was no significant difference in highlighting and note-taking across text formats. Overall, comprehension was poor and this may reflect highlighting and note-taking as ineffective or rather the type of behavior when engaging in these types of reading aids should be reconsidered. Alternatively, poor comprehension may have been a result of low motivation from participants.

Several decades of research suggesting differences in test performance across paper-based and computer-based assessments have been largely ameliorated through attention to test presentation equivalence, though no studies to date have focused on graph comprehension items. Test items requiring graph comprehension are increasingly common but may be especially prone to format effects. A crossover experimental design was used to compare paper-based (PBT) with computer-based test (CBT) formats in a sample of 28 MBA students answering 6 items requiring comprehension of Venn diagrams, scatterplots, and divided bar charts. Data analysis using a 2x2x2x2 ANOVA revealed that participants’ better performance on CBT, η2 = .07, was not statistically significant, p = .23. While DIF analysis suggested no difference by gender in total score or individual items, interaction analysis between gender and format showed the overall format effect was due mainly to males performing better on CBT, p = .02, d = 0.91. Females performed about the same in both formats. For scatterplot questions, participants also performed better on CBT, p

In this paper, I explore the role for anticipated regret in major life decision-making, focusing on how it is employed by realistic decision-makers in a variety of realistic cases. I argue that the most obvious answers to how regret might matter in decision do not make these cases intelligible, but that we can make them intelligible through consideration of the significance of narrative in our own self-understanding.

Patients with acquired brain injury (ABI) often experience cognitive impairment, such as forgetfulness or difficulties concentrating. Cognitive impairment can be one of the most devastating consequences of a brain injury, as it may interfere with activities of daily living, relationships, leisure and work. Cognitive rehabilitation focuses on learning how to deal with cognitive impairment. Cognitive rehabilitation starts with a thorough neuropsychological assessment, which mostly consists of paper-and-pencil tests to assess cognitive function. One drawback is that paper-and-pencil tests do not relate to the dynamics and complexity of daily life. As a result, paper-and-pencil tests sometimes fail to capture mild cognitive impairment, and test results do not translate easily to daily life. We investigated the feasibility, user-experience and the added value of three novel instruments: an inventory to systematically assess cognitive complaints in daily life, a digital neuropsychological assessment (in collaboration with Philips Research) and virtual reality (in collaboration with Atoms2Bits). The Cognitive Complaints – Participation (CoCo-P) inventory was developed with clinicians, researchers and patients to assess cognitive complaints in daily life. A digital neuropsychological assessment allows neuropsychologists to assess cognitive disorders, that are not observed or captured with paper-and-pencil tests. Finally, virtual reality seemed highly feasible in patients with ABI. We additionally showed the added value of virtual reality to assess mild cognitive impairment in a simulated daily environment. This dissertation only describes the first steps, but we are moving forward in assessing, understanding and treating cognitive difficulties patients encounter in daily life.

In behavior analysis, research on stimulus equivalence has been an area of high activity for more than 45 years. Murray Sidman's contribution was crucial in the development of this field, and, thus, it seems informative to highlight the experiments that were necessary in the development of the descriptive model of equivalence relations and behavior. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the significant work that gave the historical context for Sidman and colleagues' conceptualization of stimulus equivalence as it was presented in 1982. This article emphasizes the 31 papers and chapters written by Sidman and colleagues that focus on research questions within stimulus control. The chapters and papers are organized according to their dimensions in behavior analysis and according to whether they can be categorized as instruction programs or experimental studies. The issues discussed regarding these papers and chapters include types of stimuli, matching, discriminations, and others. Collectively, this early work influenced methods and considerations about stimulus control issues that have been important to the development of stimulus equivalence.

There is growing interest in the concepts of listening effort and fatigue associated with hearing loss. However, the theoretical underpinnings and clinical meaning of these concepts are unclear. This lack of clarity reflects both the relative immaturity of the field and the fact that research studies investigating listening effort and fatigue have used a variety of methodologies including self-report, behavioural, and physiological measures.This discussion paper provides working definitions for listening effort and listening-related fatigue. Using these definitions as a framework, methodologies to assess these constructs are reviewed.Although each technique attempts to characterize the same construct (i.e. the clinical presentation of listening effort and fatigue), different assumptions are often made about the nature of these phenomena and their behavioural and physiological manifestations.We suggest that researchers consider these assumptions when interpreting their data and, where possible, make predictions based on current theoretical knowledge to add to our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of listening effort and listening-related fatigue.Following recent interest in the cognitive involvement in hearing, the British Society of Audiology (BSA) established a Special Interest Group on Cognition in Hearing in May 2013. In an exploratory group meeting, the ambiguity surrounding listening effort and fatigue was discussed. To address this problem, the group decided to develop a 'white paper' on listening effort and fatigue. This is a discussion document followed by an international set of commentaries from leading researchers in the field. An approach was made to the editor of the International Journal of Audiology who agreed to this suggestion. This paper, and the associated commentaries that follow, are the result.

Based on a targeted literature review, this vision paper emphasizes the importance of dementia-sensitive built space. The article specifically focuses on supporting spatial orientation and wayfinding for people living with dementia. First, we discuss types of wayfinding challenges, underlying processes, and consequences of spatial disorientation in the context of dementia of the Alzheimer’s type. Second, we focus on current efforts aimed at planning and evaluating dementia-sensitive built space, i.e., environmental design principles, interventions, evaluation tools, strategies, and planning processes. Third, we use our findings as a starting point for developing an interdisciplinary research vision aimed at encouraging further debates and research about: (1) the perspective of a person with dementia, specifically in the context of wayfinding and spatial orientation, and (2) how this perspective supplements planning and design processes of dementia-sensitive built space. We conclude that more closely considering the perspective of people with dementia supports the development of demographically sustainable future cities and care institutions.

This paper conceptualizes that a human mind consists of three components: (1) rational self (2) emotions (3) an automatic system that memorizes habits. Based on anthologists’ research, I posit that rational self is used only in the occasions that the return of using it is high, which serves human genes’ purposes of saving vital energy of physical strength for production and fighting against ferocious animals in ancient times. In other occasions, rational self is in a dormant mode, with habits determining human behaviors. The switch from dormant to active state of rational self is through the spur of emotions. For example, in ancient times, when an individual’s peers obtain something valuable, it is usually a good opportunity for him to try to obtain it as well. Therefore, human genes create the emotion of jealousy, which yields psychological pain to spur the rational self to find the best way to get it as well through learning from his peers. When an individual makes a serious mistake, human genes create the emotion of regret, which generates psychological pain to spur the rational self to learn the lesson. When humans feel contended and their energies are under-used, human genes create the emotion of greed and boredom, which yields psychological pain to spur them to act… In contemporary times, however, these emotions may often only yield tremendous human suffering while bringing no benefits to the survival of the gene. To mitigate pains or to utilize the pleasure mechanism that human genes create, rational self may choose illusions, sexual promiscuity, taking drugs, addiction to video games, or even suicide, all of which can be conceptualized as a “principal-agent problem” between human genes and rational self. Moreover, religions may be a way to reduce human suffering. The goal of rational self is to maximize the individual’s lifetime happiness by trying to be fully aware of all of the desires and emotions that human gene creates and imposed on the individual and striking an optimal balance among them. This goal can be interpreted as the “meaning of life”, which often amounts to the satisfactions of biological needs and/or the continuous pursuit of the sense of “winning” in some aspects of life.

Working memory training improves children’s cognitive performance on untrained tasks; however, little is known about the underlying neural mechanisms. We investigated this in 32 typically developing children aged 10-14 years (19 girls and 13 boys; Devon, UK) using a randomized controlled design and multi-modal MRI. Training improved working memory performance and increased intrinsic functional connectivity between the bilateral intraparietal sulci. Furthermore, improvements in working memory were associated with greater recruitment of the left middle frontal gyrus on a complex span task. The repeated engagement of fronto-parietal regions during training may increase their activity and functional connectivity over time, affording greater working memory performance. We discuss the plausibility of generalizable cognitive benefits from a neurobiological perspective and implications for neurodevelopmental theory. This is not the version of record.

Verbal sounds can be associated with specific meanings, a phenomenon called sound symbolism. Previous findings of sound symbolism have shown that words including specific consonants or vowels or mouth shapes to pronounce specific vowels associate with specific and subjective physical and emotional evaluations. The purpose of this study was to examine whether each written vowel in a given language was individually associated with specific subjective evaluations. Six hundred and thirteen participants used five-point semantic differential scales for 10 features (size, closeness, thickness, width, weight, height, depth, affection, excitement and familiarity) to rate written Japanese vowels (a, i, u, e, and o). The results showed that the size, closeness, thickness and width of a, u and o were significantly higher than those of i and e, whereas the affection and familiarity of a were higher than the others. These results were consistent with previous findings in which vowels in sound-symbolic words have been associated with physical (i.e., size, closeness, thickness and width) and emotional (i.e., affection) evaluations. Our findings suggest that each written Japanese vowel itself, with its individual characteristics, could individually contribute to specific and subjective physical and emotional evaluations. These findings provide insights on how we could better use letters for communicative relationships among writers and readers.

Science is increasingly done in large teams, making it more likely that papers will be written by several authors from different institutes, disciplines, and cultural backgrounds. A small number of “Ten simple rules” papers have been written on collaboration and on writing but not on combining the two. Collaborative writing with multiple authors has additional challenges, including varied levels of engagement of coauthors, provision of fair credit through authorship or acknowledgements, acceptance of a diversity of work styles, and the need for clear communication. Miscommunication, a lack of leadership, and inappropriate tools or writing approaches can lead to frustration, delay of publication, or even the termination of a project. To provide insight into collaborative writing, we use our experience from the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON) to frame 10 simple rules for collaboratively writing a multi-authored paper. We consider a collaborative multi-authored paper to have three or more people from at least two different institutions. A multi-authored paper can be a result of a single discrete research project or the outcome of a larger research program that includes other papers based on common data or methods. The writing of a multi-authored paper is embedded within a broader context of planning and collaboration among team members. Our recommended rules include elements of both the planning and writing of a paper, and they can be iterative, although we have listed them in numerical order. It will help to revisit the rules frequently throughout the writing process. With the 10 rules outlined below, we aim to provide a foundation for writing multi-authored papers and conducting exciting and influential science.

Although neglected for a long time, the field of sound and posture seems to have aroused increasing interest over the last few years. In the present position paper, we present an overview of our recent findings in this field and we put them in perspective with the literature. We bring evidence to support the view that spatial cues provided by auditory information can be integrated by humans to improve their postural control. Then, two complementary trails are proposed to explain these postural effects: on the one hand, sound can be used to build a spatial mental map of the surrounding space, helping subjects to better stabilize. On the other hand, our findings suggest that some multisensory interactions occur, in which sound can facilitate the integration of the other modalities involved in the postural control.

Some animals are thought to exhibit cognitive specialization, as they have specialized cognitive modules that solve specific social or ecological problems instead of one general-purpose mechanism that addresses diverse problems. Although there are many examples of specialized cognition, little is known about whether specialization develops through experience or is produced by innate, species-specific differences. Previous work has shown that Polistes fuscatus wasps use face recognition to individually identify other wasps and that P. fuscatus are specialized for learning conspecific faces. Here, we test how experimentally altering face experience in three Polistes species influences the development of face specialization. We show face learning is influenced by both experience and innate, species-specific differences. In P. fuscatus, experience with conspecific faces is not required for the development of face specialization. In two related Polistes species that naturally lack individual face recognition, Polistes metricus and Polistes dominula, experience has different effects on specialization. Polistes metricus, a close relative of P. fuscatus, develops face specialization with experience. However, P. dominula, a more distant relative, uses general pattern recognition to learn faces regardless of experience. Therefore, some species have innate mechanistic architecture that facilitates the development of face specialization, while other species do not. These results suggest that selection shapes animal minds in a modular manner. The capacity for specialized cognitive skills evolves in response to specific ecological or social demands, such as social benefits associated with accurate individual face recognition.

Paper is strongly preferred as a medium for reading (and conversely, a digital medium is not preferred). To clarify the reasons for this, we conducted factor analysis and obtained three factors. The first factor was display characteristics that are hard on the eyes. The second one was operational and physical constraints. The third one was disturbance of concentration.

The success of a scientist depends on their production of scientific papers and the impact factor of the journal in which they publish. Because most major scientific journals are published in English, success is related to publishing in this language. Currently, 98% of publications in science are written in English, including researchers from English as a Foreign Language (EFL) countries. Colombia is among the countries with the lowest English proficiency in the world. Thus, understanding the disadvantages that Colombians face in publishing is crucial to reducing global inequality in science. This paper quantifies the disadvantages that result from the language hegemony in scientific publishing by examining the additional costs that communicating in English creates in the production of articles. It was identified that more than 90% of the scientific articles published by Colombian researchers are in English, and that publishing in a second language creates additional financial costs to Colombian doctoral students and results in problems with reading comprehension, writing ease and time, and anxiety. Rejection or revision of their articles because of the English grammar was reported by 43.5% of the doctoral students, and 33% elected not to attend international conferences and meetings due to the mandatory use of English in oral presentations. Finally, among the translation/editing services reviewed, the cost per article is between one-quarter and one-half of a doctoral monthly salary in Colombia. Of particular note, we identified a positive correlation between English proficiency and higher socioeconomic origin of the researcher. Overall, this study exhibits the negative consequences of hegemony of English that preserves the global gap in science. Although having a common language is important for science communication, generating multilinguistic alternatives would promote diversity while conserving a communication channel. Such an effort should come from different actors and should not fall solely on EFL researchers.

Background and aimsCompulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD) has been a long debated issue. While formerly the discussion was about whether to regard CSBD as a distinctive disorder, the current debate is dealing with the classification of this phenomenon. One of the prominent voices in this field considers CSBD as a behavioral addiction and proposes CSBD to be called and diagnosed as sexual addiction (SA). This present debate paper will review the existing evidence supporting this view and it will argue against it.ResultsWe have found that a great deal of the current literature is anecdotal while empirical evidence is insufficient. First, the reports about the prevalence of CSBD are contradictory. Additionally, the field mainly suffers from inconsistent defining criteria of CSBD and a consensus which symptoms should be included. As a result, the empirical evidence that does exist is mostly about some symptoms individually and not on the disorder as a whole construct.ConclusionsWe conclude that currently, there is not enough data supporting CSBD as a behavioral addiction. Further research has to be done, examining CSBD phenomenology as a whole construct and based on a homogeneous criterion.

There is an escalating debate over the value and validity of self-reported dietary intake as estimated by Food Frequency Questionnaires and other forms of memory-based dietary assessment methods. Proponents argue that despite limitations, memory-based methods provide valid and valuable information about consumed foods and beverages and therefore can be used to assess diet-disease relations. In fact, over the past 60 years, thousands of memory-based dietary research reports were used to inform public policy and establish the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Yet, despite this impressive history, our position is that memory-based dietary assessment methods are invalid and inadmissible for scientific research and therefore cannot be used in evidence-based policy making. Herein, we present the empirical evidence and theoretic and philosophic perspectives that render data derived from memory-based methods both fatally flawed and pseudoscientific. First, the use of memory-based methods is founded upon two inter-related logical fallacies: a category error and reification. Second, human memory and recall are not valid instruments for scientific data collection. Third, in standard epidemiologic contexts, the measurement errors associated with self-reported data are nonfalsifiable because there is no way to ascertain if the reported foods and beverages match the respondent's actual consumption. Fourth, the assignment of nutrient and energy values to self-reported intake (i.e., the pseudoquantification of anecdotal data) is impermissible and violates the foundational tenets of measurement theory. Fifth, the proxy estimates created via pseudoquantification are often physiologically implausible and have little relation to actual nutrient and energy consumption. Finally, investigators engendered a fictional discourse on the health effects of dietary sugar, salt, fat and cholesterol when they failed to cite contrary evidence or address decades of research demonstrating the fatal measurement, analytic, and inferential flaws of memory-based dietary assessment methods.