Survey return rates for multiple-authored versus single-authored covering letters

Differences in response rates to a three-wave mail survey were assessed when the covering letters were signed by three versus one researcher. 375 surveys including covering letters signed by three researchers and 375 surveys including covering letters signed by one researcher were sent. A follow-up mailing was used to increase the response rate. 199 surveys were returned (53.5%) in which the covering letter had three researchers, and 218 when the covering letter had one researcher (58.7%), not a significantly different distribution.     

人格测验中题目正反向陈述的效应

研究中将EPQ和NEO-FFI中的一半题目进行语义反转（肯定陈述的改为否定陈述,否定陈述的改为肯定陈述）,而另一半的题目陈述方向不变,形成的量表用于初测。重测时则把初测问卷中的题目全部进行语义反转。测试后得到363名大学生的正反EPQ和412名大学生的正反NEO-FFI数据。对比发现两套量表在使用正向题时信度略高,而使用反向陈述题目时效度略好;验证性因素分析发现正反向题能测量同一特质。正向题可能更易受反应偏差影响     

Forming, changing, and acting on attitude toward affirmative action programs in employment: a theory-driven approach

A model of attitude toward affirmative action programs (AAPs) was applied in 4 studies involving 1,622 participants. In Study 1, attributes people tacitly associate with AAPs were identified by open-ended elicitation. Using those attributes, an instrument was developed and administered in Studies 2, 3, and 4. In those studies, a multiplicative composite of beliefs and evaluations about the AAP attributes predicted AAP attitude, consistent with M. Fishbein and I. Ajzen's (1975) theory of reasoned action. Demographic effects on AAP attitude were partially mediated by this composite. In Studies 3 and 4, an experimental manipulation of AAP information was successful in changing AAP attitude, but in a way that polarized existing demographic differences. Study 4 also showed that AAP attitude and subjective norm jointly and uniquely predicted intentions to perform AAP-related behaviors. Intentions predicted the actual behavior of mailing postcards to political representatives reflecting participants' support for AAPs.     

Maximizing the response rate in surveys may be a mistake

A random postal sample of 400 Australians was carried out with the assistance of two conventional response-rate maximization techniques: a preliminary letter and a second mailing of the questionnaire aimed at non-respondents to the first questionnaire. The response-rate enhancement techniques appeared to have doubled the response rate from a usual 25% for a one-wave mailing to 47% on the present occasion. The present data, however, showed severe effects of acquiescent response bias (‘saying yes to anything’), thus severely damaging the meaningfulness of the results. It is concluded that the use of response-rate enhancement techniques is not only unnecessary but is also in fact counter-productive.     

Exploring the validity of scores from the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) in Burundi: A multi-strategy approach

The present study aimed to validate the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) in Burundi, through a multi-strategy approach used in cross-cultural studies. Respondents were 906 health workers (men = 56%; caregivers 60%). They responded to a bilingual version of RSES. We utilised Confirmatory Factorial Analysis (CFA) with structural equation modelling and a back translation test to explore the structure of the RSES and the reliability of scores from the scale. Data from an independent sample were analysed for the reliability of scores assessment. CFA results suggested that the global RSES factor was likely contaminated by a method-effect; mainly associated with negatively worded items. Internal consistencies and a back-translation test demonstrated that the negatively worded items were unsuitable in this context. The independent sample study confirmed poor reliability and internal consistency of scores for both alternative language versions of the RSES. Our data suggested that an overall cultural effect, rather than a merely specific language effect, may undermine the cross-cultural transportability of the Western scale.     

The ubiquity of common method variance: The case of the Big Five

The factor structures of the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) and NEO-FFI Big Five questionnaires were examined via confirmatory factor analyses. Analyses of IPIP data for five samples and NEO data for one sample showed that a CFA model with three method bias factors, one influencing all items, one influencing negatively worded items, and one influencing positively worded items fit the data significantly better than models without method factors or models with only one method factor . With the method factors estimated, our results indicated that the Big Five dimensions may be more nearly orthogonal than previously demonstrated. Implications of the presence of method variance in Big Five scales are discussed.     

First and Third Person Pronouns in Sex Role Questionnaires

First and third person wording of items on a sex role attitude questionnaire were examined. No correlation was found between women's scores on two versions of the Wellesley Role Orientation Scale (WROS) which were identical except for the pronouns. These results suggest that despite similar content, items worded in the first person are not equivalent to third person items as measures of sex roles. Third person scores of women were much higher than first person scores and were similar to third person scores of men. This was interpreted as indicating that normative expectations regarding women's roles are far more traditional than stated preferences of college women in the sample studied.     

Characteristic Factor Structures of the Japanese Version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory: Coexistence of Positive-Negative and State-Trait Factor Structures

Previous factor studies of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; Spielberger, Gorsuch, & Lushene, 1970) have reported certain typical factors that are state-trait (S-T) 2-factor solutions and positively-negatively (P-N) worded item 2-factor solutions in addition to 4-factor solutions (positively and negatively worded state factors, positively and negatively worded trait factors). We explored the possibility that these factor structures are included in a factor space. Responses to the Japanese version of the STAI in a sample of 848 male workers were factor analyzed. The first-order factors obtained from principal-component analysis were almost equal to the previous 4 factors, except for a minor factor, and their second-order factors were the P-N factors. However, the S-T factors were also obtained from the same first-order factors by the oblique Procrustes rotation. Moreover, coexistence of these two 2-factor structures was determined in the same factor space by the orthogonal Procrustes rotation.     

Characteristics factor structures of the Japanese version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory: coexistence of positive-negative and state-trait factor structures

Previous factor studies of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; Spielberger, Gorsuch, & Lushene, 1970) have reported certain typical factors that are state-trait (S-T) 2-factor solutions and positively-negatively (P-N) worded item 2-factor solutions in addition to 4-factor solutions (positively and negatively worded state factors, positively and negatively worded trait factors). We explored the possibility that these factor structures are included in a factor space. Responses to the Japanese version of the STAI in a sample of 848 male workers were factor analyzed. The first-order factors obtained from principal-component analysis were almost equal to the previous 4 factors, except for a minor factor, and their second-order factors were the P-N factors. However, the S-T factors were also obtained from the same first-order factors by the oblique Procrustes rotation. Moreover, coexistence of these two 2-factor structures was determined in the same factor space by the orthogonal Procrustes rotation.     

Factor structure of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire: examination of a method factor

The Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) was originally designed as a unifactorial measure of pathological trait worry. However, recent studies supported a two-factor solution with positively worded items loading on the first factor and reverse-scored items loading on a second factor. The current study compared this two-factor model to a negative wording method factor solution among college students. A method factor model with all PSWQ items loading on a single worry factor and reverse-scored items loading on a negative wording method factor provided as good a fit as the two-factor model. This method factor alone did not predict a generalized anxiety disorder diagnosis. Finally, the psychometric properties of an abbreviated scale containing only positively worded items were examined. The PSWQ appears to measure a single unitary construct, but response patterns differ between positively worded and reverse-scored items. Theoretical implications for pathological worry and assessment-related issues are discussed.     

Differential responding to positive and negative items: the case of a negative item in a questionnaire for course and faculty evaluation

Previous factor-analytic studies of self-rating scales have yielded a factor on which negatively worded items loaded separately. The present study investigated the existence for such a factor in a questionnaire for course and teacher evaluation which included one negative item. The questionnaire was administered in 1,095 university classes. Two factors emerged, an exclusively positive-item factor and another factor on which the single negative item and one positive item loaded. It was suggested that both items of Factor 2 were ambiguous and may identify tendencies such as acquiescence, random responding, and response sets.     

个人拟合指数对人格测验的影响及意义

个人拟合指标是考察心理测验中偏差得分模式的新方法。研究中考察了G、C、MCI、U3、U、W、ECI6、L等8个拟合指标对艾森克人格问卷信效度的影响,以及各指标与正反向题回答不一致项目数的相关。结果表明,删除不同比例拟合程度不好的个体后,测验的信效度明显提高。同时PFS可鉴别人格测验中的默认反应偏差。各指标中l对测验信效度的改善效果最为理想。     

Effects of small monetary incentives on return rates of a health survey to adults in rural areas

This study assessed differences in response rates to a mailed health survey by adults in two neighboring rural midwestern counties with differential incentives, of dollar 2.00 and dollar 5.00. Potential respondents in each county were randomly selected from a commercial database of residents' addresses. County "F" respondents (n = 541) which were 57% female and 95% Euro-American having a mean age of 47.3 yr. (SD= 16.9), received the dollar 5 incentive. County "H" respondents (n= 514) were 63% female, 95% Euro-American, had a mean age of 49.0 yr. (SD= 14.7), and received a S2 incentive. The response rates were 71% using the dollar 2 incentive and 73% using the dollar 5 incentive. These were not significantly different by chi-square test. The more cost-effective incentive for increasing the response rate of adults in this rural midwestern sample was to code the envelopes and use a dollar 2.00 rather than dollar 5.00 incentive, a cost per returned survey of dollar 5.24 versus dollar 9.13, respectively. The findings support Dillman's principle of diminishing returns as the size of the incentive goes up.     

An examination of the wording effect in the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale among culturally Chinese people

Previous psychometric studies of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES; 1965) have shown that items with positive and negative words tend to form 2 factors instead of a single factor for global self-esteem. Recent studies using confirmatory factor analysis have indicated that there is an additional method effect behind negatively worded items. However, researchers conducted these studies using Western participants. Because J. L. Farh and B. S. Cheng (1997) suggested that culturally Chinese people tend to exhibit a modesty bias in self-evaluation, especially on positively worded items, researchers may infer that a wording effect of positively worded items would be evident for culturally Chinese people. The author examined the wording effect in the RSES for culturally Chinese people by comparing different confirmatory factor models. The author analyzed data from 2 independent samples of students at the National Taiwan University (ns = 393, 441) and a national sample of juniors recruited from 140 universities and colleges in Taiwan in 2004 (n = 28,862). Results showed that in addition to a global factor for self-esteem, method effects of positively and negatively worded items should also be specified for a model fitting culturally Chinese people.     

Enrichment and written messages with couples

Abstract

The field of paradoxical therapy has mushroomed in a variety of conceptual and methodological ways. One of the latest methods is the use of paradoxically worded letters that will be given to couples and families, usually at the outset of therapy. To check on the validity of this approach, 56 couples were evaluated before and after a course of six sessions of marital enrichment. One group received no enrichment. A second group received enrichment. A third group received linearly worded messages at the end of the fourth session of enrichment, while a fourth group received paradoxically worded messages. The effect of these messages on the outcome is analyzed and discussed.     

A Systematic Review of Online Response Rates in Four Counseling Journals

This systematic review of articles published in 4 counseling journals found 207 articles that used online recruitment, of which 98 (47.3%) reported a response rate. These 98 studies collectively contained 22,466 individual participants. Results showed that nearly one third of all empirical articles used online recruitment, and the average response rate was 34.2% (SD = 22.6). Response rates are further described by journal, population, research methodology, and recruitment strategy. Researcher‐reported issues with online recruitment and data collection were also analyzed qualitatively, and recommendations for researchers are discussed.     

The role of optimism in patients with tinnitus and in patients with hearing impairment

Abstract

Optimism was investigated in a sample of audiology clinic patients, consisting of one group of tinnitus sufferers (N = 30) and one group of hearing impaired subjects not experiencing tinnitus (N = 44). Optimism was measured by the Life Orientation Test (LOT). In the tinnitus group the LOT correlated significantly with measures of tinnitus related distress and in the hearing impaired group with measures of disability and emotional reactions due to the hearing impairment. Cronbach's alphas for the measures used were generally high. Principal components analysis of the LOT confirmed earlier findings by showing two separate factors; one with the positively worded LOT items reflecting the presence of optimism and one with the negatively worded LOT items reflecting the presence of pessimism. The results indicate that dispositional optimism is an usable concept in research with audiological samples, and that optimism is related with tinnitus distress and experienced disability and emotional reactions due to hearing impairment. Further research should investigate the possible role of personality factors in tinnitus and hearing impairment.     

Relationship tensions and mood: Adult children's daily experience of aging parents' stubbornness

This study examined middle‐aged individuals' reports of parents' behaviors commonly attributed to stubbornness. Middle‐aged adults (N = 192) completed a 7‐day diary reporting their mood and how often they felt their parents (N = 254) engaged in behaviors often described as “stubbornness” (insistent or risky). Thirty‐one percent of middle‐aged children reported insistent behaviors, and 17% reported risky behaviors by their parent(s). Daily reports of parent behaviors attributed to stubbornness were positively associated with parent–child relationship quality, parent functional limitations, and child neuroticism. Reports of perceived parent insistent behaviors were also associated with greater daily negative mood among adult children. Findings highlight the impact of adult children's daily perceptions of parent behaviors commonly attributed to stubbornness on the individual and relationship.     

The measurement of self-esteem among Korean Americans: a cross-ethnic study

Studies have indicated that Asians' self-esteem is generally lower than other ethnic groups'. The authors hypothesized that an item response bias would result in lower self-esteem scores for Asians. Specifically, it was hypothesized that positively worded items would be rated lower by Korean Americans but that there would be no difference on negatively worded items across ethnic groups. The hypothesis was tested using 214 individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia who were Korean American, Caucasian, African American, or Latino. Results supported the hypothesis. Korean Americans had significantly lower self-esteem scores than the other 3 groups on all positively worded items but were no different from the other groups on negatively worded items. Additional analyses showed modest support for the cross-cultural construct equivalence of this measure of self-esteem.     

Posthypnotic Responding Away from the Hypnotic Setting

We examined posthypnotic suggestion away from the laboratory. In Experiment 1, high-hypnotizable subjects were given a posthypnotic suggestion (of limited or unlimited duration) or a social request (of unlimited duration) to mail one postcard every day to the experimenter. Subjects given a social request rather than a posthypnotic suggestion sent more postcards, and those given a limited-duration suggestion responded differently from those given an unlimited-duration suggestion. In Experiment 2, real, hypnotized and simulating, unhypnotized subjects were given a posthypnotic suggestion, and nonhypnotic control subjects were given a social request, to mail one postcard every day; the suggestion or request was of either limited or unlimited duration. Real, hypnotized subjects sent more postcards than simulators; control subjects sent as many postcards as real, hypnotized subjects; and subjects given a suggestion or request of limited duration sent more than those given one of unlimited duration. The findings highlight the interaction of individual differences and the social context of the suggestion or request. They underscore important aspects of experience and behavior associated with posthypnotic responding away from the hypnotic setting.