A note on the Jenkins activity survey

The responses of 150 British policemen and 58 administrators to the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS) were scored by an interviewer, trained in the use of the Structured Interview (SI), giving each S a point each time the most Type A response for each question was selected. These scores, together with a similarly calculated Type B score, were compared with the Type A assessments made by the SI and the Framingham Type A Scale. The newly scored JAS responses were also factor analysed. The results indicated that different assessments between the SI and the JAS were unlikely to be caused by sub-optimal scoring of the JAS. The factor analysis of the JAS responses failed to find a stable underlying structure. The implications of these results for the measurement of Type A behaviour are discussed.     

A note on the use of triads for paired comparisons

When scaling a large number of stimuli from comparative judgments, considerable savings in time and labor may be realized if stimuli are presented in triad form rather than in pairs. If, forN stimuli, the proper configuration of triads can be assembled so that all possible pairs appear once, the paired judgment matrix may be reproduced with one-third fewer judgments and two-thirds fewer presentations than would be required with complete pairing. A simple procedure is described for enumerating triad configurations for whichN is an odd multiple of three.     

The role of rewards and reinforcements in early education programs: III the use of concrete rewards

Discussion in this paper centers on the role of concrete reinforcers in educational programs. It is argued that despite “language” differences, considerable overlap exists in the papers presented by Hodges and Brophy (see previous two articles, this issue). Further, it is suggested that the inconsistencies and contradictions which do exist cannot be reconciled with existing data and that new research must be undertaken to clarify the issues.     

A note on the use of goal programming for the multiplicative AHP

The main aim of this paper is to identify the opportunities of utilizing goal programming (GP) in the multiplicative analytic hierarchy process (MAHP). It starts with the issue of weight derivation from judgemental matrices. The use of GP for the weight derivation problem is not new, but GP is viewed in this paper from the perspective of augmenting the capabilities of the widely used row geometric mean method (RGMM) of the logarithmic least squares technique (LLST). Different possible approaches using GP are discussed. It is shown that the formulation of the GP problem can be easily modified to provide the same weights as those of the LLST. While this proposed GP technique is not superior to the RGMM in terms of computational ease or speed, it is quite useful in solving certain other problems of the MAHP, such as interval judgements and missing judgements, which cannot be readily solved by the RGMM. The proposed technique provides extensive scope for utilizing the vast literature on non-linear programming, say, for conducting sensitivity analysis. It also has the potential to be useful to more complicated issues of the MAHP, such as group decision making and interlevel dependence, hitherto little explored areas of the MAHP. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gradual proportion congruent effects in the absence of sequential congruent effects

In perceptual filtering tasks, congruency effects vary as a function of proportion congruent (PC), with smaller congruency effects when congruent trials are rare than when they are frequent. This effect is typically larger with extreme differences between high and low proportion congruent conditions (e.g., 80% congruent–20% incongruent) than with intermediate differences (e.g., 60% congruent–40% incongruent; Logan & Zbofroff, 1979; Blais & Bunge, 2010). Some authors have claimed that both PC effects can be explained in terms of the same reactive cognitive control mechanism that is responsible for sequential congruency (SC) effects (e.g., Botvinick, Braver, Barch, Carter, & Cohen, 2001). In fact, in most previous studies there was a systematic confounding between proportion congruent and the proportion of transitions involving an incongruent trial followed by another incongruent trial. In the present study we eliminated this confound and tested directly whether PC effects can still be measured in the absence of SC effects. Once confirmed, we studied the properties of this pure form of PC effect, in particular whether it is conflict-type specific or general, and whether it decreases gradually as a function of changes in proportion congruency (80% vs. 70% vs. 60%). Our results showed significant PC effects in the absence of SC effects, which replicates our previous findings (Torres-Quesada, Milliken, Lupiáñez, & Funes, 2014), and PC effects that can be conflict-type general or specific, depending on the nature of conflict type where they were produced. Importantly, the congruency effect was modulated by the level of proportion congruent, decreasing systematically as the absolute percentage of incongruent trials decreases.     

A cautionary note on the use of probability values to evaluate interobserver agreement

Proposed methods of assessing the statistical significance of interobserver agreements provide erroneous probability values when conducted on serially correlated data. Investigators who wish to evaluate interobserver agreements by means of statistical significance can do so by limiting the analysis to every k(th) interval of data, or by using Markovian techniques which accommodate serial correlations.     

A note on the use of rank-ordered logit models for ordered response categories

Models for rankings have been shown to produce more efficient estimators than comparable models for first/top choices. The discussions and applications of these models typically only consider unordered alternatives. But these models can be usefully adapted to the case where a respondent ranks a set of ordered alternatives that are ordered response categories. This paper proposes eliciting a rank order that is consistent with the ordering of the response categories, and then modelling the observed rankings using a variant of the rank ordered logit model where the distribution of rankings has been truncated to the set of admissible rankings. This results in lower standard errors in comparison to when only a single top category is selected by the respondents. And the restrictions on the set of admissible rankings reduces the number of decisions needed to be made by respondents in comparison to ranking a set of unordered alternatives. Simulation studies and application examples featuring models based on a stereotype regression model and a rating scale item response model are provided to demonstrate the utility of this approach.     

A note on the use of directional statistics in weighted euclidean distances multidimensional scaling models

The weighted euclidean distances model in multidimensional scaling (WMDS) represents individual differences as dimension saliences which can be interpreted as the orientations of vectors in a subject space. It has recently been suggested that the statistics of directions would be appropriate for carrying out tests of location with such data. The nature of the directional representation in WMDS is reviewed and it is argued that since dimension saliences are almost always positive, the directional representations will usually be confined to the positive orthant. Conventional statistical techniques are appropriate to angular representations of the individual differences which will yield angles in the interval (0, 90) so long as dimension saliences are nonnegative, a restriction which can be imposed. Ordinary statistical methods are also appropriate with several linear indices which can be derived from WMDS results. Directional statistics may be applied more fruitfully to vector representations of preferences.     

Cautionary note on the use of short state-anxiety measures

The report noted that the use of high item-remainder coefficients as the sole criterion in the selection of items for short state-anxiety scales from full scales can lead to inaccurate interpretation of results. It was demonstrated that the use of a four-item state-anxiety scale from the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory A-State scale based on high item-remainder coefficients changed relationships in a previously reported study which used full-scale scores. It was proposed that such changes in relationships were the result of selecting four items which happen to load on only one of three dimensions of the A-State scale. The criterion of high item-remainder coefficents alone may be inadequate in the formation of short state-anxiety scales.     

A two-process view of Facebook use and relatedness need-satisfaction: disconnection drives use, and connection rewards it

Does using Facebook help people to meet their relatedness needs? Study 1 shows that more frequent Facebook usage paradoxically correlates with more relatedness satisfaction (connection) and more relatedness dissatisfaction (disconnection). Study 2 supports a 2-process explanation of this finding, showing that disconnection motivates greater usage as a coping strategy, whereas connection results from greater usage. Study 3 examines the effects of depriving participants of Facebook use for 48 hr. Further supporting the 2-process view, connection decreased, but disconnection was unaffected during the deprivation period; however, those who became more disconnected during the deprivation period engaged in more Facebook use during a 2nd, unconstrained 48-hr period, whereas changes in connection did not predict later use. In Study 4, participants set a Facebook reduction goal; initial disconnection interfered with and predicted worse performance in this goal. Implications for theories of psychological needs, behavioral motives, and adaptive coping are considered.     

A survey of microcomputer use in small psychology departments

A survey of microcomputer use in psychology showed equal frequency of use for teaching, research, and administration. Respondents with computer experience evaluated microcomputer contributions more highly than did those respondents without experience but with an interest in using computer systems. Apple IIes were the most popular machines, word processing the most popular use, and experimental and statistical psychology the most popular courses for using computers. Sixty percent of the users wrote their own software.