The Impact of Environmental,Social, and Animal Factors on Visitor Stay Times at Big Cat Exhibits

ABSTRACT

An accurate understanding of visitor interest is critical to the education and conservation missions of zoos. However, studies that consider multiple influences are rare, and measures such as stay time that have been used to measure visitor interest vary widely, making broader inferences challenging. The authors sought to (a) compare the relative influences of social interactions, animal behavior, environmental factors, and animal species on visitor stay time and (b) evaluate how conclusions vary depending on the metric of stay time used. They conducted 701 direct observations of zoo visitors at a big cat exhibit. The data suggest that animal visibility was a critical factor driving stay time. Animal species played a minor role. The relative importance of the number of other visitors present and animal activity level differed depending on the stay time metric used. Nine other factors examined were relatively unimportant in predicting stay time. These results have important implications for exhibit design, crowd flow management, animal husbandry, collection management, and educational programs in zoos.     

Using Web Surveys in Summative Evaluations: A Case Study at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

ABSTRACT

This article reports on the use of a post-visit web survey to assess how visitor reactions to the exhibition Sharks: Myth and Mystery at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The web survey was used to supplement on-site observations and interview data. A total of 598 visitors shared their e-mail addresses with the aquarium so they could participate in the survey, and 61% of successfully delivered e-mails elicited responses yielding 314 completed surveys. Results from the web survey showed that visitors could recall specific aspects of the exhibition four months after their visit, with more than one-third (37%) of visitors able to cite an occurrence in their day-to-day lives that had reminded them of the exhibition. In addition, the majority of visitors (59%) recalled speaking to someone else about the exhibition since their visit. When prompted, many visitors (44%) were also able to recall specific conservation content presented in the exhibition. This case study demonstrates that web surveys can provide the field of visitor studies with a viable method for gathering post-visit data and highlights additional design tips for evaluators.     

Using Curriculum-Based Measurement to Evaluate Intervention Efficacy

SUMMARY

The use of Curriculum-Based Measurement for evaluating treatment efficacy is described and discussed. The basic methods and applications of Curriculum-Based Measurement are described, followed by examples of its application in two intervention program evaluation projects. The first project involved one individual student experiencing academic difficulties. The second project focused on evaluating a reading instruction program for a group of students. In both examples, the use of Curriculum-Based Measurement contributed significantly to monitoring student progress in response to educational program variables and making treatment evaluation decisions.     

焦虑症状的绘画评定研究

目的:利用回归分析探讨绘画测验对焦虑状态的评定作用。方法：对290名被试实施了房子-树-人绘画投射测验和Scl90焦虑分量表测验,结果：在所考察的11种绘画特征中,有5种对焦虑具有预测性。可以建立绘画特征对焦虑进行预测的回归方程,方程具有中等程度的解释水平。两名主试评价的Kappa一致性系数均达到较高水平。结论：可以通过绘画测验评定和预测焦虑,焦虑症状的绘画测验方法具有较好的评分者信度。     

Using Relative Confidence Judgments to Evaluate Group Effectiveness

The performance of groups can be greatly influenced by their ability to identify their best member. This study investigated this issue in the context of a quantitative judgment task. Relative confidence judgments were used to determine the extent to which group members were able to identify their best member. The effectiveness of groups was also compared across three experimental conditions that varied in terms of the specific instructions group members were given about the group discussion. Results indicate that group members were often able to identify the most accurate member even though the judgment task did not have a demonstrable solution. Groups were also at least as accurate as their best member nearly 40% of the time. The group process intervention that encouraged group members to try to determine the most accurate individual judgment fared better than the intervention that focused on intraindividual accuracy rankings. Groups in this condition also showed the strongest correspondence between identifying the best member and performing at this level. Groups assigned to an unstructured group discussion condition performed nearly as well as those assigned to the more successful of the two interventions.     

Using Motivational Monitoring to Evaluate the Efficacy of Self-disclosure and Self-involving Interventions

Self-disclosures and self-interventions are generally considered useful, although their role remains controversial. This is mainly due to the heterogeneity of research findings on this topic, characterized by the lack of a clear definition of self-disclosure and of systematic and effective methods to evaluate the short- and long-term effects of such interventions. To clarify the concept of self-disclosure, it is essential to understand whether its definition comprehends different interventions, which may have different effects. An accurate and reliable evaluation of such effects may allow clinicians and researchers to differentiate among different kinds of self-disclosures. In this theoretical article, we propose a method to evaluate the clinical efficacy of self-disclosures interventions. This method is based upon the monitoring of motivational systems (Liotti, 2005), which allows therapists to assess the cooperative attunement between patient and therapist in real-time. Our central assumption is that the evaluation of the cooperative attunement between patient and therapist, as well as the patient’s metacognitive functioning, is primary to assess the use of clinical interventions. Indeed, these factors – either acting on their own or synergistically – are the mark, the essence, and the reflection of the therapeutic alliance, which is the strongest predictor of treatment’s outcome.

     

Using Multilevel Logistic Regression to Evaluate Person-Fit in IRT Models

I describe how multilevel logistic regression can be used to assess the consistency of an individual's response pattern with an item response theory measurement model. Specifically, by treating item responses as being nested within individuals, multilevel logistic regression is used to estimate a person-response curve that models how an individual's item endorsement rate decreases as a function of item difficulty. The slope of an individual's person-response curve is used as an indicator of the degree of response consistency or person-fit. I argue that the proposed multilevel modeling approach to person-fit assessment has several potential advantages over traditional techniques. The most important advantage being that the multilevel modeling approach allows explanatory variables to be entered into the model so that the causes of response inconsistency or differential test functioning can be investigated.     

Using Multilevel Mixtures to Evaluate Intervention Effects in Group Randomized Trials

There is evidence to suggest that the effects of behavioral interventions may be limited to specific types of individuals, but methods for evaluating such outcomes have not been fully developed. This study proposes the use of finite mixture models to evaluate whether interventions, and, specifically, group randomized trials, impact participants with certain characteristics or levels of problem behaviors. This study uses latent classes defined by clustering of individuals based on the targeted behaviors and illustrates the model by testing whether a preventive intervention aimed at reducing problem behaviors affects experimental users of illicit substances differently than problematic substance users or those individuals engaged in more serious problem behaviors. An illustrative example is used to demonstrate the identification of latent classes, specification of random effects in a multilevel mixture model, independent validation of latent classes, and the estimation of power for the proposed models to detect intervention effects. This study proposes specific steps for the estimation of multilevel mixture models and their power and suggests that this model can be applied more broadly to understand the effectiveness of interventions.     

Using the Impact of Event Scale to Evaluate Psychological Response to Being a Phenylketonuria Gene Carrier

The birth of a child with phenylketonuria (PKU) is almost always a shock to the parents, who are faced with the realities of caring for a child with special needs and the need to cope with the realization that they are obligate carriers of the responsible gene. The Impact of Event Scale (IES) was used to assess the psychological impact of being a PKU gene carrier on 83 parents of children with PKU. IES scores decreased significantly from the time of initial diagnosis of PKU to the current time. The magnitude of the psychological impact did not correlate with the age of the parent, the number of years since the diagnosis of PKU, or the health or development of the child. As more tests become available for detecting the presence of disease-related genes, instruments such as the IES may prove useful in the evaluation of psychological responses to genetic information.     

Examining the Effect of Visitor Motivation on Observed Visit Strategies Using Mobile Computer Technologies

ABSTRACT

This article examines the interaction between visitor motivation and in-museum visitor behavior. The authors postulate that, in order to understand this aspect of the dynamics of museum visiting, we need to view the motivations to visit the museum as lists compiled by individual visitors but also as part of wider lists of reasons for visiting that exist in society—which they refer to as cultural itineraries. Self-report methods have been used to capture patterns of motivation that emerge across the data, which in this case were used to examine their relation to visit strategies as manifested by visitor pathways through the London Zoo. Visitor pathways were captured through the novel use of mobile location-sensing technology which offers distinct opportunities in this context that have been unexplored in audience research. The combination of standard research methodology and automated location tracking used in this study allowed us to indentify two distinct visit strategies that directly relate to social groupings with different motivations: (a) groups with an education/participation motivation, who visit exhibits only, and (b) groups with a social event motivation, who spend a considerable amount of time on nonexhibit related activities and socializing with other family members and friends.     

Direct versus Indirect Well-Being Measures: Using Partially Structured Stimuli to Evaluate Well-Being

Given the important limitations of direct (explicit) measures, the study of indirect (implicit) measures of psychological constructs has received increased attention of social researchers. However, in the field of well-being the measures that have traditionally been used have tried to capture people’s well-being in an explicit and direct way, with some exceptions that are based mainly on adaptations of the Implicit Association Test (IAT). Given the critics that the IAT has received, the first aim of the present research was to develop a new life satisfaction measure using partially structured stimuli (PSWBS). The second goal was to examine the relation between direct and indirect well-being measures. In the first study, PSWBS showed good internal consistency, test–retest reliability and construct validity. Factorial analyses indicated that this measure acted as an indirect measure. In addition, direct and indirect well-being showed a significant but weak relation. To explain this result, in a second study we analyzed the moderating role of social comparison orientation on the relation between direct and indirect well-being measures. As expected, more social comparison tendency implied a stronger relation. In a third study we analyzed the criterion validity of both kind of measures. The PSWBS, the Personal Wellbeing Index-Adults and the Satisfaction With Life Scale significantly correlated with a criterion validity coefficient in terms of a semi-structured interview made by an external experimenter. Finally, in a fourth experiment we analyzed the influence of social desirability on direct and indirect measures of well-being. In contexts of high desirability, partially structured stimuli seemed to be more resistant to response factors (e.g., control of impressions) than traditional direct measures.

     

Creation and Validation of an Observational Tool to Assess Children's Domain-General Skills at Museum Exhibits

Abstract

Understanding visitor experiences is an important focus for visitor research in attractions such as museums, zoos, and heritage sites because the visitor experience is the core product of the interaction between the visitor and the activities, events, and environments they encounter. This article describes the development of an instrument designed to capture multiple facets of the visitor experience using a simple and unobtrusive adjective checklist. The checklist has been tested and used at a range of attractions, including museums, art galleries, science centers, zoos, and aquariums. The instrument allows visitors’ responses to the experiential offerings of each site to be captured and graphically displayed, as well as providing individual measures on 15 dimensions. The instrument can be used to support further research and theory development as well as exhibit design and evaluation. Examples of such applications are discussed.     

Using Parent Target Problem Narratives to Evaluate Outcomes in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - This paper examines the reliability and validity of parent target problems (PTPs) in a multi-site randomized controlled trial of parent training...     

The Effect of Broken Exhibits on the Experiences of Visitors at a Science Museum

ABSTRACT

This study explores visitors' perceptions of “broken” exhibits at the Museum of Science, Boston. Data were collected through comment cards, timing and tracking maps, exit interviews, surveys, and focus groups. Analysis of the data shows that the number of broken exhibits a visitor perceives impacts their disappointment in the gallery more than Museum counts of broken exhibits. The perceived broken exhibits follow a hierarchy. They are most often reported when they are non-functional. Partially functioning exhibits and design issues (such as poor usability and missing or incorrect information) are also reported, but less frequently. Pine and Gilmore's Field Guide for the Experience Economy (2005) is used as a framework to interpret the findings. Suggestions are made for ways of decreasing the effect of broken exhibits on visitor experiences.     

Testing the Impact of a Computer Guide on Visitor Learning Behaviors at an Interactive Exhibit

ABSTRACT

There is a recognized need to rigorously examine the efficacy of approaches to supporting informal learning. In this study, we used a 2 × 2 factorial experimental design to test the impact of a computer guide on 3 proximal measures of visitor learning at an interactive math exhibit. In total, 128 families were systematically assigned to engage with the exhibit either with or without access to a supplementary computer kiosk. Visitor groups with access to the computer spent longer, on average, at the exhibit and engaged in more mathematical behaviors compared to other groups. However, based on interviews, visitors with access to the computer were less likely to fully articulate the mathematical relations in the exhibit. These results suggest that although computer guides are a promising approach to supporting visitor engagement, they may, unless carefully designed, undermine other learning outcomes.     

The Spiritual Formation of Walter: An Illustrated Meta-Model of Spiritual Formation Using the Film The Visitor

This article describes a meta-model of spiritual formation comprised of salient and consistent components from developmental psychology models. The model is comprised of six “spaces” and is illustrated using the film The Visitor. This article provides a brief overview of spirituality and differentiates it from religion. The meta-model presented here is intended to be used by pastoral counselors and spiritual directors as a heuristic framework for understanding and facilitating an individual’s spiritual formation.     

Learning at Workstations in the Zoo: A Controlled Evaluation of Cognitive and Affective Outcomes

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to test the cognitive and affective benefits gained through the provision of educational materials at workstations in the Wilhelma Zoo in Stuttgart, Germany. Structured learning materials were developed for use with visiting school groups. The materials focused on the adaptations of 6 selected groups of bird species and were organized as a self-guided learning environment (workstations). The value of the materials was assessed in terms of cognitive (learning and retention) and emotional (interest, well-being, boredom, anxiety, contentedness) variables. The authors measured prior knowledge (1 week before the zoo visit), learning effect (1 week after the visit), and retention (8 to 9 weeks later). A total of 103 students (6th graders aged between 11–12 years) participated in the study, 77 receiving a treatment about adaptations in bird species and 26 receiving a treatment about reptiles which served as a control. Students had similar prior knowledge, but 1 week later students receiving the bird unit scored significantly better and this persisted into retention. Girls achieved higher scores than boys, both 1 week and 8 to 9 weeks after the visit. Surprisingly, students in the control group reported higher interest, well-being and contentedness, and lower boredom than those in the treatment group.     

Differential Sensitivity of Using Simulators Versus Actual Aircraft to Evaluate the Effects of a Stimulant Medication on Aviator Performance

The comparability of simulator versus aircraft results was examined with a quasi-experimental approach. Flight data from 10 UH-60 pilots, who flew a helicopter simulator, and 10 pilots who flew an aircraft were pooled to assess the influence of the flight platform on Dexedrine® versus placebo effects in two 40-hr periods of sustained wakefulness. Overall, performance under Dexedrine® was better than performance under placebo, but consistent stimulant and fatigue effects were observed across both flight platforms less than one third of the time. Sensitivity was lower in the aircraft, likely because of differences due to environmental influences (weather, temperature, and turbulence) and other factors (radio traffic and, possibly, anxieties about safety). Thus, simulator studies, although desirable in terms of cost and safety, may overestimate the impact of stressors (e.g., fatigue) as well as the potential benefits from fatigue countermeasures (e.g., Dexedrine®). Conversely, in-flight studies may underestimate these types of performance effects. As a result, caution is advised when attempting to generalize findings from one flight platform to the other.     

Use of the Jackknife Statistic to Evaluate Result Replicability

Result replicability has often been confused with significance testing because of a misinformed view that statistical significance evaluates result importance and result replicability. Several alternatives, of which the jackknife statistic is one, provide researchers with the tools for estimating result replicability. In the present study, an available data set from A. L. Edwards (1985, p. 57) is used to illustrate the use of the jackknife statistic to assess the replicability of multiple regression results in a concrete fashion. The jackknifed coefficients are computed to assess the stability of beta weights and the multiple R ² value. Confidence intervals and t statistics are also calculated to facilitate the interpretation of these jackknifed coefficients.