Qualitative research in psychology: Could William James get a job?

Considering the case of William James, the author examines the likelihood of a successful career as a qualitative researcher in contemporary U.S. psychology. Fifty-seven journals affiliated with the American Psychological Association or its divisions were analyzed to show the place of qualitative research in U.S. psychology over the past 50 years. Journal abstracts, mission statements, and a short e-mail questionnaire from editors were used to understand patterns and trends in qualitative research in U.S. psychology. Editors are generally accepting of qualitative work, although mission statements do not always signal likely interest in qualitative work. The amount of qualitative work published is comparably low, but patterns of increased publication are found in some journals. Trends in methodologies, topics of research, and ways in which qualitative research enters journals over time are discussed. Suggestions for the publication of qualitative work are provided.     

Feedback from research participants: are member checks useful in qualitative research?

It is often assumed that use of so-called “member checks” improves the credibility of qualitative research. Published literature mentioning member checks was reviewed to identify the purposes and procedures for seeking feedback from research participants as well as outcomes reported from member checks. Four themes reflecting underlying assumptions about the purposes of research that have implications for member checks were identified: theory generalisation, representation, participation, and change. Member checks are unlikely to be relevant to research focussed on theory development and generalisation. For other types of research, member checks might be justifiable, but there was little evidence that member checks improved research findings. Member checks can be useful for obtaining participant approval for using quotations or case studies and where anonymity cannot be guaranteed. In evaluation, stakeholder reviews of draft reports can be seen as good research practice. In participatory or collaborative research, ongoing contact might include member checks.     

Could millisecond timing errors in commonly used equipment be a cause of replication failure in some neuroscience studies?

Neuroscience is a rapidly expanding field in which complex studies and equipment setups are the norm. Often these push boundaries in terms of what technology can offer, and increasingly they make use of a wide range of stimulus materials and interconnected equipment (e.g., magnetic resonance imaging, electroencephalography, magnetoencephalography, eyetrackers, biofeedback, etc.). The software that bonds the various constituent parts together itself allows for ever more elaborate investigations to be carried out with apparent ease. However, research over the last decade has suggested a growing, yet underacknowledged, problem with obtaining millisecond-accurate timing in some computer-based studies. Crucially, timing inaccuracies can affect not just response time measurements, but also stimulus presentation and the synchronization between equipment. This is not a new problem, but rather one that researchers may have assumed had been solved with the advent of faster computers, state-of-the-art equipment, and more advanced software. In this article, we highlight the potential sources of error, their causes, and their likely impact on replication. Unfortunately, in many applications, inaccurate timing is not easily resolved by utilizing ever-faster computers, newer equipment, or post-hoc statistical manipulation. To ensure consistency across the field, we advocate that researchers self-validate the timing accuracy of their own equipment whilst running the actual paradigm in situ.     

Are sensation seeking and emotion processing related to or distinct from cognitive control in children with ADHD?

This study evaluated the relationship of (a) reactive inhibition and right-lateralized emotion processing to each other and (b) to executive control of response suppression, and (c) with regard to ADHD in 134 children ages 7-12 years. Reactive inhibition was indexed by child ratings of sensation seeking on the Sensation Seeking Scales, executive control by the Stop Signal Task, emotion processing by performance on the Chimeric Faces Test, and ADHD by parent- and teacher-reported symptoms. The results were consistent with a two-process model in which executive control, conceived as a right-hemisphere lateralized function, was distinct from sensation seeking and lateralized emotion processing. Supporting this distinction, ADHD was associated with executive control, but not with sensation seeking/reactive inhibition or lateralized emotion processing. The findings suggest that ADHD cannot be understood as a global right-lateralized neuropsychological weakness, but rather that it involves only particular functions that may be right lateralized. Findings further suggest that risk for comorbid disorders in ADHD (e.g., conduct disorder or mood disorders) may increase as a function of independent factors such as temperament. Mechanisms underlying executive inhibition and emotional processing could be functionally independent yet interact to multiply psychopathological risk in some children (leading, for example, to comorbid disorders).     

Are Sensation Seeking and Emotion Processing Related to or Distinct from Cognitive Control in Children with ADHD?

This study evaluated the relationship of (a) reactive inhibition and right-lateralized emotion processing to each other and (b) to executive control of response suppression, and (c) with regard to ADHD in 134 children ages 7–12 years. Reactive inhibition was indexed by child ratings of sensation seeking on the Sensation Seeking Scales, executive control by the Stop Signal Task, emotion processing by performance on the Chimeric Faces Test, and ADHD by parent- and teacher-reported symptoms. The results were consistent with a two-process model in which executive control, conceived as a right-hemisphere lateralized function, was distinct from sensation seeking and lateralized emotion processing. Supporting this distinction, ADHD was associated with executive control, but not with sensation seeking/reactive inhibition or lateralized emotion processing. The findings suggest that ADHD cannot be understood as a global right-lateralized neuropsychological weakness, but rather that it involves only particular functions that may be right lateralized. Findings further suggest that risk for comorbid disorders in ADHD (e.g., conduct disorder or mood disorders) may increase as a function of independent factors such as temperament. Mechanisms underlying executive inhibition and emotional processing could be functionally independent yet interact to multiply psychopathological risk in some children (leading, for example, to comorbid disorders).     

Temporal code constants--a link between psychology and physiology in research of cognitive processes? Hypotheses and considerations of quantum structures in alpha activity of the brain]

Temporal code invariants as possible links between psychological and physiological characteristics of cognition: a tentative time quantum approach. Relationships between alpha activity and short-term memory performance are discussed referring to an approach suggested by Lebedev and Lutzky (1973). These authors suggest a secondary relationship in considering processing as well as storing of information as a result of the superposition of oscillatory processes which differ from one another an elementary period (relative refractoriness) specific to individuals. Some specifications of scan rate and STM span suggested by the authors seem to be untenable for empirical and logical reasons. Alternative explanations are proposed referring to the time quantum model (TQM) by Geissler (1985, 1987, 1990, 1991). Straight forward expansions of this model lead to the hypothesis of an "alpha band" consisting of 9 discrete frequencies. Predictions on scanning rhythms can be derived from this via the assumption that these represent segmentations caused by pairwise resonance. A modification of the Lebedev-Lutzky assumption on spans is proposed assuming an optimum code for stored information.     

Investigating Friendship Difficulties in the Pathway from ADHD to Depressive Symptoms. Can Parent–Child Relationships Compensate?

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with friendship difficulties. This may partly account for the increasingly recognised association between ADHD and subsequent depression. Little is known about the types of friendship difficulties that could contribute to the association between ADHD and depressive symptoms and whether other relationships, such as parent–child relationships, can mitigate against potential adverse effects of friendship difficulties. In a representative UK school sample (n?=?1712), three main features of friendship (presence of friends, friendship quality and characteristics of the individual’s classroom friendship group) were assessed in a longitudinal study with two assessment waves (W1, W2) during the first year of secondary school (children aged 11-12 years). These friendship features (W1) were investigated as potential mediators of the prospective association between teacher-rated ADHD symptoms (W1) and self-rated depressive symptoms (W2) seven months later. Parent–child relationship quality (W1) was tested as a moderator of any indirect effects of ADHD on depression via friendship. ADHD symptoms were inversely associated with friendship presence, friendship quality and positive characteristics of classroom friendship groups. Depressive symptoms were inversely associated with presence and quality of friendships. Friendship quality had indirect effects in the association between ADHD and subsequent depressive symptoms. There was some evidence of moderated mediation, whereby indirect effects via friendship quality attenuated slightly as children reported warmer parent–child relationships. This highlights the importance of considering the quality of friendships and parent–child relationships in children with ADHD symptoms. Fostering good quality relationships may help disrupt the link between ADHD symptomology and subsequent depression risk.

     

Predictors of time to remission from depression in primary care patients: do some people benefit more from positive life change than others?

The authors examined the role of personality, social support, and coping strategies and their interaction with positive life change (PLC) in influencing time to remission from depression in 86 depressed primary care patients (69% women, mean age = 36.6 years), who were followed for 3.5 years. Diagnostic information was obtained by the Present State Examination (J. K. Wing, J. Cooper, & N. Sartorius, 1974), and life change by the Life Events and Difficulties Schedule (G. W. Brown & T. O. Harris, 1978). The association of PLC and other predictors with the time to remission was studied by means of Cox regression. PLC reduced time to remission in women, but not in men. Other predictors that expedited remission were low severity of premorbid difficulties, high self-esteem, and a tension-reducing coping style. Neuroticism modified the effect of PLC in that the remission forward bringing effect of PLC was stronger for highly neurotic people. The results suggests that women and psychologically vulnerable persons benefit most from PLC.     

When and why do people avoid unknown probabilities in decisions under uncertainty? Testing some predictions from optimal foraging theory.

When given a choice between two otherwise equivalent options - one in which the probability information is stated and another in which it is missing - most people avoid the option with missing probability information (Camerer & Weber, 1992). This robust, frequently replicated tendency is known as the ambiguity effect. It is unclear, however, why the ambiguity effect occurs. Experiments 1 and 2, which separated effects of the comparison process from those related to missing probability information, demonstrate that the ambiguity effect is elicited by missing probabilities rather than by comparison of options. Experiments 3 and 4 test predictions drawn from the literature on behavioral ecology. It is suggested that choices between two options should reflect three parameters: (1) the need of the organism, (2) the mean expected outcome of each option; and (3) the variance associated with each option's outcome. It is hypothesized that unknown probabilities are avoided because they co-occur with high outcome variability. In Experiment 3 it was found that subjects systematically avoid options with high outcome variability regardless of whether probabilities are explicitly stated or not. In Experiment 4, we reversed the ambiguity effect: when participants' need was greater than the known option's expected mean outcome, subjects preferred the ambiguous (high variance) option. From these experiments we conclude that people do not generally avoid ambiguous options. Instead, they take into account expected outcome, outcome variability, and their need in order to arrive at a decision that is most likely to satisfy this need.