Norms for 439 action events: Familiarity,emotionality, motor activity,and memorability

A total of 128 male and female university students having Swedish as their mother tongue rated 439 actions on a 7-point scale in the dimensions of Familiarity, Emotionality, Motor Activity, and Memorability under instructions to imagine themselves performing each action (e.g., “to roll a ball”, “to break a match”). Overall mean ratings were higher for women than for men in all four dimensions. High reliabilities were obtained in each scale. Intercorrelations between the dimensions were low to moderate, indicating that different characteristics of the actions were assessed. It is demonstrated that the ratings of the four dimensions are in agreement with previous categorisations of actions along the same or similar dimensions and with findings related to memory performance. Furthermore, control studies performed on the Familiarity dimension show that norm values are highly correlated with ratings given by participants in standard enacting and nonenacting conditions and with ratings in a condition where objects were present. These norms offer possibilities to control for and vary item characteristics of importance in the study of actions and the memory of actions.     

中外两种推理理论的实验比较研究

通过两个实验对中国学者提出的“推理题与推理者的推理知识双重结构模型”和Evans提出的“双重加工理论”进行了实验比较研究。实验一通过两种评定方法对相应性质命题进行评定后所得实验结果表明Evans等(1983)有关“信念效应”研究中的“结论可信性”变量可以视为与胡竹菁等(1996)实验中的“内容正确性”变量是同一性质的变量; 实验二根据“形式正确性”和“内容正确性”两个自变量设计的推理实验结果与Evans等(1983)的研究结果基本一致; 但增加“内容熟悉性”这一自变量设计的推理实验结果表明“推理题与推理者的推理知识双重结构模型”比Evans提出的“双重加工理论”能更好地解释推理者对性质三段论的推理结果。     

Stimulus-specific processing consequences of pattern goodness

Two issues concerning the effects of visual pattern goodness on information processing time were investigated: the role of memory vs. encoding and the role of individual stimulus goodness vs. stimulus similarity. A sequential “same-different” task was used to provide differentiation of target item or memory effects from display item or encoding effects. Experiment 1 used four alternative stimuli in each block of trials. The results showed that good patterns were processed faster than poor patterns for both “same” and “different” responses. Furthermore, the goodness of the target item had a greater effect on reaction time than did the goodness of the display item, indicating that memory is more important than encoding in producing faster processing of good stimuli. Effects of interstimulus similarity on processing time were minimal, although isolation of good stimuli in a similarity space could explain many of the results. Experiment 2 replicated the results of Experiment 1, despite the fact that differences in similarity space had been minimized by using only two alternative stimuli in each block. In addition, the speed of processing a “same” pair was essentially independent of the particular alternative stimulus in a block. These results suggest that in this task, there is a processing advantage for good stimuli that is stimulus specific, with the effect operating primarily in memory.     

Visual search through color displays: Effects of target-background similarity and background uniformity

The effects of target-background similarity and background uniformity were investigated in two experiments in which subjects reported the presence or absence of an achromatic target item in arrays containing irrelevant chromatic items. In Experiment 1, both “present” and “absent” decision times were an increasing function of the similarity of a predefined target item to the background, and were shortened when the interitem similarity of the background set was increased. In Experiment 2, the effects of target-background similarity on the “present” decision were replicated when subjects were not informed on each trial as to which member of the target set might appear in the array, and the “absent” decision was faster when each row of the array comprised background items of a single color than when these items were allocated randomly to array locations. The results are interpreted in terms of the role of pre-attentive grouping operations.     

Examining the cross‐cultural validity of the positive affect and negative affect schedule between an Asian (Singaporean) sample and a Western (American) sample

The positive affect and negative affect schedule (PANAS) is a popular measure of positive (PA) and negative affectivity (NA). Developed and validated in Western contexts, the 20‐item scale has been frequently administered on respondents from Asian countries with the assumption of cross‐cultural measurement invariance. We examine this assumption via a rigorous multigroup confirmatory factor analysis, which allows us to assess between‐group differences in both strength of scale item‐to‐latent factor relationship (metric invariance test) and mean of each scale item (scalar invariance test), on a large sample of 1,065 respondents recruited from Singapore (Asian sample) and the United States (Western sample). We found that two items assessing PA (“excited” and “proud”) and three items assessing NA (“guilty,” “hostile,” and “ashamed”) exhibited metric noninvariance whereas 11 of the remaining metric invariant items exhibited scalar noninvariance, suggesting that the PA and NA constructs differ from what the PANAS is expected to measure for Asian respondents. Our findings serve as a cautionary note to researchers who intend to administer the PANAS in future studies as well as to researchers interpreting the results of past studies involving respondents from Asian countries.     

Validating a new method for quantifying traits: The computer-administered visual analog

This article introduces a new method for assessing personality traits that uses graphic rather than written items to facilitate the convergent validation of personality traits. A computer-administered visual analog procedure is presented that samples 40 equally spaced positions along a trait continuum five times. Examinees initiate each trial by pressing the space bar and end it by pressing either a “True” or “False” key indicating if that location describes them or not. Response time is measured in milliseconds. The majority answer determines the aggregate response and the median response time determines the latency for the aggregate response to each location on the trait continuum. This procedure enables an empirical measure of trait variability. Results indicated theoretically meaningful responses in 94 college students on each of two personality dimensions; extraversion and trait anxiety. The predicted inverted-U function was obtained for both personality dimensions such that the fastest response times were associated with 0 and 5 “True” responses, somewhat longer response times were associated with 1 and 4 “True” responses, and the longest times were associated with 2 or 3 “True” responses. Statistically significant and substantial validity coefficients were obtained with the Eysenck personality inventory extraversion scale, and the state-trait anxiety inventory, form Y-2.     

Stuck in the Middle: The Use and Interpretation of Mid-Points in Items on Questionnaires

Likert-type scales are commonly used when assessing attitudes, personality characteristics, and other psychological variables. This study examined the effect of varying the number of response options on the same set of 28 attitudinal items. Participants answered items using either a 4-point scale (forced choice), a 5-point scale that included a “neither” mid-point, or a 4-point scale with an option of “no opinion” presented after the item. The questionnaire also included an item asking participants what they believe the midpoint in a scale indicated. As predicted, participants’ interpretations of the midpoint varied widely with the most common responses being: “no opinion,” “don't care,” “unsure,” “neutral,” “equal/both,” and “neither.” The quantitative results showed that participants’ levels of item endorsement varied based on the response options offered. For example, “neither” was chosen more often than “no opinion” on all of the items.     

A critique and extension of Bronfenbrenner's Moral Dilemma Test

Critical reading of Bronfenbrenner's Moral Dilemmas Test (MDT) suggests that it measures two basic kinds of moral dimensions: (1) “Negative-passive” moral choices which require the child to resist peer pressure to violate conventional norms in situations fraught with potential adult sanctions, and (2) “Positive-active” moral choices which require performance of an act that affirms a moral principle and implies a benefit for recipients of the act. To test the validity of these distinctions, additional positive-active type dilemmas were constructed to balance the overemphasis on negative-passive situations found in the original MDT. This expanded MDT was then administered to samples of Mormon, Catholic and public school children. Responses from all samples were subjected to factor and cluster analyses and then to a “multitrait-multimethod matrix”. These analyses provide support for the need for making moral sub-distinctions by producing item clusters that are consistently based on the a priori defined negative-passive and positive-active dimensions. A third dimension is also discernable among certain of the original MDT items, but it represents an achievement orientation of only-secondary moral significance. Implications of these conceptual distinctions for linking different kinds of moral responses to different kinds of social contexts are discussed.     

Parallel encoding within and between elementary stimulus dimensions

Human ability to encode simultaneously different dimensions of a visual display was tested, using an “erasure” technique to control the time for which the visual information remained available for processing. Three separate vocabularies of test item were employed, one varying in terms of color and two in terms of form attributes. Simultaneous presentation of color and form stimuli gave evidence of nearly perfect parallel encoding of both types of attribute. Form-form combinations, on the other hand, indicated only partially simultaneous encoding of the primary form dimensions involved. It was suggested that, while primary encoding of different stimulus dimensions is simultaneous, within the same dimension encoding of discrete stimulus elements may occur seriatim.     

社会认知内容的“大二”模型

社会认知的内容存在两个基本维度,一个与热情或社会性特质有关,另一个与能力或智力性特质有关,称之为社会认知内容的"大二"模型。关于"大二"模型的理论有进化心理学、本体论和功能性三种解释。目前,"大二"模型的理论焦点集中在模型的文化普适性检验、两维度之间的关系以及两个维度的权重和偏好问题上。今后可结合本土实际情况围绕着三大焦点问题和两维度的具身研究等问题进行深入探讨。     

Mix or Match? Consumer Spending Decisions in Conditional Promotions

Conditional multi‐item promotions are a prevalent marketing tactic whereby consumers have to buy a certain number of products to get a discount. This paper examines how framing a multi‐item promotion in terms of savings on multiple items versus a single item (e.g., “buy two, get X% off on both” vs. “buy two, get 2X% off on the cheaper item”) affects consumers’ decision‐making and product choices. Two laboratory studies and a field study at a boutique clothing store demonstrate that the “2X% on cheaper” framing makes consumers more likely to select similarly priced primary and secondary items. This strategy is driven by increased focus on promotional savings under the “2X% on cheaper” framing, which leads consumers to spend more on their secondary items. Overall, this research shows how a subtle change in the framing of multi‐item promotions changes consumers’ product selection strategies and shopping basket composition.     

Perception of two-dimensional Markov constraints within visual displays

A method is described for constructing visual displays in which statistical constraints are encoded within two spatial dimensions without introducing one-dimensional linear constraints. Within each local group of four elements, the state of one element was determined with a given probability by the previously generated states of the other three. Ss rated such displays on a scale from “lumpy” (or crude texture) to “lacy” (or even texture). The consistency of classification obtained for displays with strong aggregated (“lumpy”) properties was substantially higher than that obtained for displays with strong distributed (“lacy”) properties. An incidental feature of the Ss’ behavior was their deliberate degrading of the visual quality of the displays. Comparison is made with one-dimensional displays concatenated in two dimensions.     

Evidence for Context Switching in the Effects of Average Item Length and Item-Length Variability on Internal Consistency

This investigation examined the effects of 3 item characteristics—the average number of words per item, within-scale variability in item length, and item “direction”—on internal consistency reliability and interitem correlation. In Study 1, we examined the effects of these variables on overall scale-level reliability using 444 subscales from 9 personality scales. In Study 2, we examined interitem correlation at the paired-item level using 477 nonredundant item pairs from 14 personality scales. Lower scale reliability was associated with more average words per item, greater within-scale variability in item length, and a greater percentage of reverse-keyed items. Similarly, smaller interitem correlations were associated with a greater degree of mismatch in item length between the paired items and with a mismatch (vs. match) in the items' respective “directions.” The pattern of results across both studies supports our notion that lower internal consistency results from increased context switching; that is, from the confusion that occurs when respondents must switch back and forth between the interpretive frames pertaining to short versus long items, or between items pertaining to one pole of a personality dimension and its “opposite” pole. Suggestions for maximizing the internal consistency of personality scales are proposed.     

The benefit of categorization in visual search: Target location without identification

Prior studies have shown that between-category visual search (e.g., looking for a “6” among letters) is easier that within-category search (e.g., looking for a “6” among other digits). Four experiments were performed to determine what particular benefits are conferred in between-category search. The first experiment demonstrates that this category-effect occurs even when the subject has to identify the target, this suggests that the between-category search can “tag” the categorially different item for further processing. Three further experiments provide evidence that this tag is based on the item’s spatial location within the array.     

Positional discriminability in linear orderings

Subjects were taught two eight-term linear orders of the form “A taller than B taller than C ….,” They were then asked to choose the “taller” term in all possible pairwise combinations within each series, and reaction time was measured for each pair. In addition, subjects performed a further task in which they judged whether or not two terms were adjacent in the ordering. In subsequent sessions, subjects were told that the “shortest” term on one list was taller than the “tallest” term on the other, so that the two lists were merged into a single 16-term series. They were then required to choose the “taller” term for both within-groups and between-groups pairs. Subjects did not appear to use the initial groupings in performing this task, even when given training on differential categorical codes (“tall” vs. “short”) for the two sublists. Rather, subjects in all tasks appeared to represent the items as ordered positions along an internal array, so that comparison times depended largely on the differential discriminability of the item positions. In each task decisions were made more quickly if the terms being compared were near the ends of the ordering, rather than near the middle.     

Patients' intentions in primary care: Measurement and preliminary investigation

Abstract

A questionnaire to assess patients' intentions in primary care was completed by 206 patients. Patients also rated the amount of help with their presenting problem which they thought could be provided by each of 11 secondary services. A principal components analysis of the intentions revealed 4 components: “Explanation and understanding,” “Support,” “Medical treatment” and “Information-seeking.” Individual patients' intentions were quantified on each of these dimensions. Requests for “Explanation and understanding” did not correlate with expectation of help from any of the 11 sources. In contrast, each of the remaining 3 types of request correlated with expectation of help from a number of sources. These results show, first, a way of measuring patients' intentions on multiple independent dimensions. Secondly, they indicate that patients look solely to the general practitioner for general information and reassurance about their problems. For emotional support they look to additional, mainly psychiatric, sources. This calls into question the view that general practitioners are seen by patients as more appropriate providers of emotional support than specialist services.     

CD-CAT初始阶段项目选取方法

CD-CAT是CDA同CAT的相结合的产物,适用于课堂教学,是教师补救教学、学生自我学习的重要工具。作为CD-CAT重要组成部分的初始阶段项目选取方法是影响测验判准率的重要因素。本文基于现有研究和CDA的项目区分度提出了四种新的初始阶段项目选取方法:CTTID法、CDI法、CTTIDR*法和CDIR*法。通过模拟研究发现,在定长的CD-CAT下,题库质量是HD-HV下,初始阶段结束时,CTTIDR*法的PCCR比现有的T阵法高了.2999,比PWKL高了.1707,其它题库下趋势相同。整个测验结束时CTTIDR*法的判准率仍然是最高的。在变长的CD-CAT下,最大后验概率大于.7、.8、.9下,CTTIDR*法的被试平均测验长度比T阵法分别缩短了2.6170、2.2347、1.7470道题。