Order effects in Rokeach's Value Survey

Two-hundred-twelve sociology students completed a version of Rokeach's Value Survey in which the presentation order of the values was randomized. Each respondent received a unique randomization pattern. Spearman's correlations were computed between the presentation order and the order of ranking done by the respondent. The magnitude of the correlations obtained was such that the amount of bias created by presentation order was sufficiently small as to suggest that order effects are not a problem in the instrument.     

WORD FREQUENCY AND WORD DIFFICULTY:

Abstract— This article compares word counts made using four different collections of text, including one based on collections of electronic text For each of the collections, standard word frequency indices were computed and compared with a carefully developed list of words ranked in order of difficulty as determined by vocabulary tests Correlations between the word frequency indices and word difficulty ranks show that word frequencies for all four corpora are highly correlated with word difficulty Despite these high correlations, the results show also that the difficulty of some words is not estimated accurately by word frequency The reasons for disparities between word frequency and word difficulty are not clear The high correlations obtained for the corpus based on electronic text suggest that this method of text sampling has potential but that caution is advisable in conducting such collections.     

Revisiting the Empirical Distinction Between Hedonic and Eudaimonic Aspects of Well-Being Using Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling

The distinction between hedonic (i.e., subjective well-being) and eudaimonic (i.e., psycho-social functioning) components of well-being is questioned by some researchers on the grounds that these two aspects of well-being are highly correlated. However, I argue that previous research has relied on confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), which is likely to overestimate interfactor correlations, because cross-loadings are constrained to be zero in CFA. In contrast, the new method of exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) does not constrain cross-ladings to zero, which results in more accurate factor intercorrelations. The present study used ESEM to reinvestigate the relationship between hedonic and eudaimonic aspects of well-being in a sample of 3986 American adults. The results showed that the ESEM model fitted the data better than the CFA model. As expected, interfactor correlations obtained with ESEM were substantially smaller than those obtained with CFA, indicating greater factor distinctiveness. These results suggest that hedonic and eudaimonic factors are correlated yet largely independent from each other. The results also suggest that ESEM is a more appropriate method than CFA in the study of multi-dimensional constructs, such as mental well-being.     

The effect of individual differences in act prototypicality judgments on trait-behaviour correlations and cross-situational consistency

Individuals differ in their perceptions of actprototypicality. This study examined whether incorporating such individual differences enhances trait-behaviour correlations and provides stronger evidence for cross-situational consistency. Three hundred and fifty-three subjects rated the dominance prototypicality of 100 acts, indicated how often they performed each of these acts, and provided trait ratings of how dominant they were in general. There were substantial and reliable individual differences in prototypicality judgements over a 4–5 month period. A variety of weighting schemes were used to incorporate these individual differences, but none dramatically increased the trait-behaviour correlation. Similarly, incorporating individual differences did not increase the magnitude of cross-situational consistency correlations. However, incorporating individual differences did enhance the pattern of trait-behaviour and consistency correlations from less prototypical to highly prototypical acts. Differences in perceptions of act prototypicality thus do not affect the magnitude of the correlations that can be obtained, but they are useful in revealing theoretically meaningful patterns of relationships.     

Individual differences in power functions for a 1-week intersession interval

Two experiments examined correlations of the power function exponents of individual Ss obtained in each of two sessions. Half the Ss for any task performed second sessions immediately after the first, the other half after a week’s delay. In Experiment I, groups of 16 Ss gave magnitude estimations of apparent area, or else of area and loudness. In Experiment II, groups of 16 Ss made cross-modality matches of apparent time duration to area. Significant correlations in all cases indicated consistent and persisting S differences in exponents. The results are related to the findings of other studies of such individual differences.     

Assessment of adult psychopathology: meta-analyses and implications of cross-informant correlations

Assessment of adult psychopathology relies heavily on self-reports. To determine how well self-reports agree with reports by "informants" who know the person being assessed, the authors examined 51,000 articles published over 10 years in 52 peer-reviewed journals for correlations between self-reports and "informants" reports. Qualifying correlations were found in 108 (0.2%) of the articles. When self-reports and informant reports were obtained with parallel instruments, mean cross-informant correlations were .681 for substance use, .428 for internalizing, and .438 for externalizing problems. When based on different instruments, the mean cross-informant correlation was .304. The moderate sizes of the correlations argue for systematically obtaining multi-informant data. National survey findings were used to illustrate practical ways to obtain and use such data.     

INTERRATER CORRELATIONS DO NOT ESTIMATE THE RELIABILITY OF JOB PERFORMANCE RATINGS

Interrater correlations are widely interpreted as estimates of the reliability of supervisory performance ratings, and are frequently used to correct the correlations between ratings and other measures (e.g., test scores) for attenuation. These interrater correlations do provide some useful information, but they are not reliability coefficients. There is clear evidence of systematic rater effects in performance appraisal, and variance associated with raters is not a source of random measurement error. We use generalizability theory to show why rater variance is not properly interpreted as measurement error, and show how such systematic rater effects can influence both reliability estimates and validity coefficients. We show conditions under which interrater correlations can either overestimate or underestimate reliability coefficients, and discuss reasons other than random measurement error for low interrater correlations.     

The asymptotic distribution of commonality components

Commonality components have been defined as a method of partitioning squared multiple correlations. In this paper, the asymptotic joint distribution of all 2 ^k – 1 squared multiple correlations is derived. The asymptotic joint distribution of linear combinations of squared multiple correlations is obtained as a corollary. In particular, the asymptotic joint distribution of commonality components are derived as a special case. Simultaneous and nonsimultaneous asymptotic confidence intervals for commonality components can be obtained from this distribution.This work was supported in part by the Spencer Foundation and the National Science Foundation.The authors are grateful to Bryna Siegel-Gorlick for her help in obtaining the data used in Example 4.3, and to the referees for their comments and suggestions.     

Estimating the Expected Replicability of a Pattern of Correlations and Other Measures of Association

Replication is at the heart of all empirical sciences. However, there are no standard procedures for establishing the replicability of a pattern of correlations found linking a particular variable to an inventory or battery of other measures. This article introduces 2 statistics for quantifying the expected replicability of a pattern of associations (i.e., correlations, slope coefficients) between a variable of interest and a SET of other variables, items, measures, and so on. Using simulations and real data, we illustrate that these statistics are highly accurate estimates of the expected replicability of an observed pattern of correlations. These statistics can readily be used to indicate the replicability of patterns of association indexed by other statistics (e.g., regression slopes or covariances) and can be applied to other contexts, such as estimating the reliability of profile correlations. It is recommended that these statistics are regularly reported in such studies.     

INTRA-PAIR SIMILARITIES IN THE SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENTS OF TWINS

The present investigation is part of a follow-up study of twins from grade 4 through 8 (age 11 through 15). Intra-pair similarities are studied, intra-class correlations being used as a criterion of similarity. Scores on achievement tests administered to practically all the twins in grade 4 in Sweden were collected and analyzed. The intra-class correlations obtained for an age group of twins in grade 6 are throughout higher than those obtained in grade 4. The findings refute the additive model of hereditary and environmental influences. Two alternative hypotheses are advanced to explain the results. Previous findings indicating an average superiority of single-borns over twins in cognitive tests are confirmed.     

Analyzing experimental data using the Rasch model

We present a method for studying experimental data based on a psychometric model, the “Rasch model” (Rasch, 1966; Thissen & Steinberg, 1986). We illustrate the method with the use of a data set in the field of concept research. More specifically, we investigate whether a conjunctive concept can be seen as an additive combination of its constituents. High correlations between model and data are obtained, but a formal goodness-of-fit test indicates that the model does not completely account for the data. We then alter the Rasch model in such a way as to capture our idea of why the model deviates from the data. This results in higher correlations and a strong increase in goodness-of-fit. It is concluded that our ideas, as incorporated in the model, adequately summarize the data. More generally, this research illustrates that applying the Rasch model and altering it according to one’s hypotheses is an excellent way to analyze experimental data.     

Connections Between Graphical Gaussian Models and Factor Analysis

Connections between graphical Gaussian models and classical single-factor models are obtained by parameterizing the single-factor model as a graphical Gaussian model. Models are represented by independence graphs, and associations between each manifest variable and the latent factor are measured by factor partial correlations. Power calculations for the single-factor graphical Gaussian model are facilitated by expressing the manifest partial correlations as functions of the factor partial correlations. The power of selecting a graphical Gaussian model with an association structure between manifest variables compatible with a single-factor model is investigated. The results are illustrated using 2 examples: the 1st is a hypothetical factor model with parallel measures. The 2nd uses data from the British Household Panel Survey on job satisfaction.     

Exposure to community violence and trauma symptoms in late adolescence: comparison of a college sample and a noncollege community sample

This paper presents a comparison for two samples (college and noncollege) of older, urban African-American adolescents of correlations between two measures of exposure to community violence (victim and witness) and four types of psychological trauma symptoms (anger, anxiety, depression, and dissociation). The central issue is the generalizability of previous findings about these relationships obtained from beginning college students of traditional age. The two samples did not differ in the magnitude of either the zero-order correlations or the multiple correlations between the two types of exposure to community violence and the four types of symptoms of trauma. The conclusion is that findings regarding the relationship of exposure to community violence with psychological symptoms of trauma obtained from college students may tentatively be generalized to older adolescents who are not in college.     

青少年心理一致感水平及其与应付方式的关系

本研究以265名高中生为被试,探讨青少年心理一致感发展的特点以及与应付方式的关系。研究结果表明,(1)被试在心理一致感发展水平上存在显著的年级差异;(2)三个年级被试的应付方式存在显著的差异;(3)被试心理一致感水平与问题解决、求助两种应付方式存在显著的正相关;(4)被试心理一致感水平与自责、幻想、退避、合理化四种应付方式存在显著的负相关。高心理一致感个体在压力调节上倾向于采用成熟而积极的应付方式。本研究从压力应对的过程角度分析心理一致感与应付方式之间的关系。     

Assessing MMPI Constructs Through the Measurement of Response Latencies

Responses to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) were assessed with respect to their relevance to schema theory. The relation between scores on self-reported personality dimensions and the speed of processing test items associated with each dimension was examined. With previously derived factor analytic content scales, negative correlations were obtained between scale scores and mean latencies for endorsing relevant items, and positive correlations were found between scale scores and mean latencies for rejecting relevant items. A similar analysis completed on the traditional clinical scales revealed no such pattern. Results were interpreted as supporting the conceptualization of item responding as a content-based, schema-relevant process.     

Some relationships between factors and components

The asymptotic correlations between the estimates of factor and component loadings are obtained for the exploratory factor analysis model with the assumption of a multivariate normal distribution for manifest variables. The asymptotic correlations are derived for the cases of unstandardized and standardized manifest variables with orthogonal and oblique rotations. Based on the above results, the asymptotic standard errors for estimated correlations between factors and components are derived. Further, the asymptotic standard error of the mean squared canonical correlation for factors and components, which is an overall index for the closeness of factors and components, is derived. The results of a Monte Carlo simulation are presented to show the usefulness of the asymptotic results in the data with a finite sample size.The author is indebted to anonymous referees for their comments, corrections and suggestions which have led to the improvement of this article.     

Assessing MMPI constructs through the measurement of response latencies

Responses to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) were assessed with respect to their relevance to schema theory. The relation between scores on self-reported personality dimensions and the speed of processing test items associated with each dimension was examined. With previously derived factor analytic content scales, negative correlations were obtained between scale scores and mean latencies for endorsing relevant items, and positive correlations were found between scale scores and mean latencies for rejecting relevant items. A similar analysis completed on the traditional clinical scales revealed no such pattern. Results were interpreted as supporting the conceptualization of item responding as a content-based, schema-relevant process.     

Novel methods for analyzing multifaceted personality scales: sense of coherence and depression as an example

Multifaceted personality scales assess multiple related facets or dimensions and, as such, they are typically made up of correlated subscales. In some cases, the degree of correlation among subscales can be so high as to render the use of standard procedures for evaluating a subscale's relative importance (e.g., beta weights or bivariate correlations) dubious. In such cases of high predictor multicollinearity, researchers are faced with few viable options and, in response, many turn to multiple regression when examining predictor-criterion associations (for example, interpreting semipartial correlations and incremental variance estimates). In an effort to broaden researchers' options and thereby allow for greater interpretive clarity, z tests for comparing dependent zero-order correlations and R. G. Malgady's (1987) methods for comparing two dependent semipartial correlations and for comparing dependent semipartial and zero-order correlations are proposed as additional techniques for analyzing predictor (or subscale) criterion associations in the context of predictor collinearity. Worked examples of both techniques are provided, using a dataset on sense of coherence and depression. Finally, relevant computer programs for implementing the aforementioned techniques are noted.     

Using sound to solve syntactic problems: the role of phonology in grammatical category assignments.

One ubiquitous problem in language processing involves the assignment of words to the correct grammatical category, such as noun or verb. In general, semantic and syntactic cues have been cited as the principal information for grammatical category assignment, to the neglect of possible phonological cues. This neglect is unwarranted, and the following claims are made: (a) Numerous correlations between phonology and grammatical class exist, (b) some of these correlations are large and can pervade the entire lexicon of a language and hence can involve thousands of words, (c) experiments have repeatedly found that adults and children have learned these correlations, and (d) explanations for how these correlations arose can be proposed and evaluated. Implications of these phenomena for language representation and processing are discussed.     

Oblique factors and components with independent clusters

Relationships between the results of factor analysis and component analysis are derived when oblique factors have independent clusters with equal variances of unique factors. The factor loadings are analytically shown to be smaller than the corresponding component loadings while the factor correlations are shown to be greater than the corresponding component correlations. The condition for the inequality of the factor/component contributions is derived in the case with different variances for unique factors. Further, the asymptotic standard errors of parameter estimates are obtained for a simplified model with the assumption of multivariate normality, which shows that the component loading estimate is more stable than the corresponding factor loading estimate.