The life of p: “Just significant” results are on the rise

Null hypothesis significance testing uses the seemingly arbitrary probability of .05 as a means of objectively determining whether a tested effect is reliable. Within recent psychological articles, research has found an overrepresentation of p values around this cut-off. The present study examined whether this overrepresentation is a product of recent pressure to publish or whether it has existed throughout psychological research. Articles published in 1965 and 2005 from two prominent psychology journals were examined. Like previous research, the frequency of p values at and just below .05 was greater than expected compared to p frequencies in other ranges. While this overrepresentation was found for values published in both 1965 and 2005, it was much greater in 2005. Additionally, p values close to but over .05 were more likely to be rounded down to, or incorrectly reported as, significant in 2005 than in 1965. Modern statistical software and an increased pressure to publish may explain this pattern. The problem may be alleviated by reduced reliance on p values and increased reporting of confidence intervals and effect sizes.     

The Visibility Curve of the White Rat as Determined by the Electrical Retinal Response to Lights of Different Wave-Lengths

The relative influence of three degrees of instance contiguity (mixed, mixed-by-dimension, and nonmixed) and two orders of presentation (simple-to-complex, and complex-to-simple) on subject's proficiency at identifying nine concepts was examined. The concepts could be classified along one of three relevant dimensions (object, form, and number) and varied in difficulty so that object concepts were easier than forms, and forms were easier than numbers.

Forty-eight college students served as subjects, and were presented 18 positive instances of each concept in one of six treatment combinations. Performance across three trial blocks (each block encompassing concept instances relevant to one dimension) was examined in conjunction with contiguity and presentation order.

Analysis of variance revealed significance for order (p < .001), trials (p < .025), Trials x order (p < .001), and the residual (p < .05). Order differences within each trial block were greatest under nonmixed and least under mixed-by-dimension contiguity conditions. A two-stage mediation hypothesis was advanced to account for these results.     

Psychophysiological correlates of organizational change and threat of unemployment among police inspectors

The study examined psychosocial work-conditions and physiological reactions among thirty-six police inspectors (median age 45 years, 81% males) who participated in a reorganization. At this time, subjects were threatened by unemployment and had to reapply for their positions in a new police district. Data were collected during the reorganization and at three years follow-up, by means of questionnaires (Stress Profile) and blood samples. The blood samples were used to determine serum levels of gammaglutamyltransferase (GGT), glucose, lipids, prolactin, testosterone and cortisol. The results show a positive association betweenworry about employment and symptoms ofburnout during the reorganization. Mean scores for the Stress Profile sub-scalesworry about employment (p<.01) andwork-load (p<.05) decreased between measurements but an impairment inrelationships with management was noticed (p<.05). No significant changes were observed in terms of self-rated health complaints. Significant decreases in total cholesterol (p<.0001), LDL-cholesterol (p<.0001), LDL/HDL-ratio (p<.01), prolactin (p<.0001), as well as increases in testosterone (p<.01) and cortisol (p<.001) were observed for the whole sample. Glucose decreased with marginal significance (<.07). Controlling for age and gender, multivariate regression analyses showed that subjects who reported deteriorations insatisfaction with work manifested the most modest decreases in prolactin (p<.05). Also, the decrease in glucose was larger for subjects who experienced impairments in,satisfaction with work (p<.05), information (p<.05), task-oriented leadership, (p<.05), andrespect and dignity (p<.05). Subjects who perceived deteriorations in theethical and moral standards of the organization increased their cortisol level to a lower degree than their counterparts (p<.05). Favorable changes in employment status and psychosocial work environment seem to be related to improved physiological functioning.     

Collaboration Between Clergy and Mental Health Professionals: A Review of Professional Health Care Journals From 1980 Through 1999

Given the frontline role of community clergy in mental health care, this study examined how collaboration with clergy was viewed by mental health and other health professionals outside of the religious community. Searches of health care journals on Medline and PsycINFO yielded 44 articles from non‐religious journals from 1980 through 1999 that specifically addressed collaboration between clergy and mental health professionals. Seven themes were identified through content analysis, including the benefits of collaboration to each profession, the need to increase the clergy's knowledge about mental heath, and the importance of referrals. Discussion about interdisciplinary referrals significantly increased over time, r_ø (1, N = 44) = .31, p < .05).     

Interpretation of significance levels by psychological researchers: the .05 cliff effect may be overstated

Comments about previous studies indicate that the interpretation of significance levels by psychological researchers is unequivocally dictated by a binary decision-making framework. In particular, confidence in ap level would drop abruptly just beyond the fateful .05 level (cliff effect). A replication of Rosenthal and Gaito’s (1963) experiment on the degree of confidence inp levels shows that these claims should be moderated. Detailed analysis of individual curves reveals that the attitude of researchers towardp values is far from being as homogeneous as might be expected. However, most psychological researchers in our study rated graduated confidence judgments, as either exponential or linear. Only a minority ofall-or-none respondents exhibited an abrupt drop in confidence.     

Tan and thin? Associations between attitudes toward thinness,motives to tan and tanning behaviors in adolescent girls

Tanning during adolescence increases skin cancer risk. Relatively few studies have examined the association between thinness attitudes and tanning attitudes and behaviors. The purpose of the current study was to examine psychosocial predictors of sunbathing and tanning bed use, specifically thin ideal internalization (TII) and motives for tanning among high school girls. Adolescent girls (N = 229) completed a 10-minute questionnaire designed to assess sunbathing and indoor tanning, TII and motives to tan (appearance, social and well-being). Hierarchical regression analyses showed that TII, β = .05, p < .05, appearance motives, β = .11, p < .01 and well-being motives, β = .11, p < .01 were all independently positively associated with sunbathing. Social motives were negatively associated with sunbathing, β = ?.07, p < .05. A three-way interaction was found between the three types of motives on indoor tanning, in that appearance and well-being motives interacted to increase indoor tanning levels, especially among those who strongly endorsed social motives for tanning, β = .22, p < .05. Motives for tanning, specifically those associated with appearance and well-being, can interact to increase tanning bed use. When designing tailored interventions for skin cancer prevention in young people, researchers should consider tailoring based on motivation. Researchers and healthcare professionals who work with adolescents should attend to tanners who are motivated for both appearance and mood-related reasons, as they may be most at risk for tanning dependence and skin cancer.     

Visual scanning patterns and executive function in relation to facial emotion recognition in aging

ABSTRACT

Objective: The ability to perceive facial emotion varies with age. Relative to younger adults (YA), older adults (OA) are less accurate at identifying fear, anger, and sadness, and more accurate at identifying disgust. Because different emotions are conveyed by different parts of the face, changes in visual scanning patterns may account for age-related variability. We investigated the relation between scanning patterns and recognition of facial emotions. Additionally, as frontal-lobe changes with age may affect scanning patterns and emotion recognition, we examined correlations between scanning parameters and performance on executive function tests. Methods: We recorded eye movements from 16 OA (mean age 68.9) and 16 YA (mean age 19.2) while they categorized facial expressions and non-face control images (landscapes), and administered standard tests of executive function. Results: OA were less accurate than YA at identifying fear (p < .05, r = .44) and more accurate at identifying disgust (p < .05, r = .39). OA fixated less than YA on the top half of the face for disgust, fearful, happy, neutral, and sad faces (p values < .05, r values ≥ .38), whereas there was no group difference for landscapes. For OA, executive function was correlated with recognition of sad expressions and with scanning patterns for fearful, sad, and surprised expressions. Conclusion: We report significant age-related differences in visual scanning that are specific to faces. The observed relation between scanning patterns and executive function supports the hypothesis that frontal-lobe changes with age may underlie some changes in emotion recognition.     

Beyond inference by eye: Statistical and graphing practices in JEAB, 1992‐2017

Debates about the utility of p values and correct ways to analyze data have inspired new guidelines on statistical inference by the American Psychological Association (APA) and changes in the way results are reported in other scientific journals, but their impact on the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (JEAB) has not previously been evaluated. A content analysis of empirical articles published in JEAB between 1992 and 2017 investigated whether statistical and graphing practices changed during that time period. The likelihood that a JEAB article reported a null hypothesis significance test, included a confidence interval, or depicted at least one figure with error bars has increased over time. Features of graphs in JEAB, including the proportion depicting single‐subject data, have not changed systematically during the same period. Statistics and graphing trends in JEAB largely paralleled those in mainstream psychology journals, but there was no evidence that changes to APA style had any direct impact on JEAB. In the future, the onus will continue to be on authors, reviewers and editors to ensure that statistical and graphing practices in JEAB continue to evolve without interfering with characteristics that set the journal apart from other scientific journals.     

Self-regulation evaluation of therapeutic yoga and walking for patients with irritable bowel syndrome: a pilot study

With limited efficacy of medications for symptom relief, non-medication treatments may play an important role in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), the most common functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorder. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of two self-regulation strategies for symptom relief and mood management in IBS patients. Thirty-five adult participants meeting ROME III criteria for IBS were enrolled, 27 of the 35 participants (77%) completed treatment and pre- and post-treatment visits (89% women, 11% men; M (SD) age = 36 (13)), and 20 of the 27 (74%) completed a 6-month follow-up. Participants were randomly assigned to 16 biweekly group sessions of Iyengar yoga or a walking program. Results indicated a significant group by time interaction on negative affect with the walking treatment showing improvement from pre- to post-treatment when compared to yoga (p < .05). There was no significant group by time effect on IBS severity. Exploratory analyses of secondary outcomes examined change separately for each treatment condition. From pre- to post-treatment, yoga showed significant decreases in IBS severity measures (p < .05), visceral sensitivity (p < .05), and severity of somatic symptoms (p < .05). Walking showed significant decreases in overall GI symptoms (p < .05), negative affect (p < .05), and state anxiety (p < .05). At 6-month follow-up, overall GI symptoms for walking continued to significantly decline, while for yoga, GI symptoms rebounded toward baseline levels (p < .05). When asked about self-regulated home practice at 6 months, significantly more participants in walking than in yoga practiced at least weekly (p < .05). In sum, results suggest that yoga and walking as movement-based self-regulatory behavioral treatments have some differential effects but are both beneficial for IBS patients, though maintenance of a self-regulated walking program may be more feasible and therefore more effective long term.     

THE ACCELERATED INTAKE: A METHOD FOR INCREASING INITIAL ATTENDANCE TO OUTPATIENT COCAINE TREATMENT

We examined whether offering an accelerated (same-day) versus a standard (1- to 7-day delay) intake appointment increased initial attendance at an outpatient cocaine treatment program. Significantly more of the subjects who were offered an accelerated intake (59%) attended than those who were given a standard intake (33%), χ² (2, N = 78) = 4.198, p < .05. The accelerated intake procedure appears to be useful for enhancing enrollment in outpatient addiction treatment.     

Learning from Spiritual Models and Meditation: A Randomized Evaluation of a College Course

Effects of two meditation and mindfulness-based spiritual interventions were examined in college undergraduates (N=44). Compared to a control group, both interventions decreased negative religious coping (d=−0.80, p<.01) and images of God as mainly controlling (d=−.73, p<.01). One intervention provided more training in tools for learning from community and tradition-based spiritual exemplars. It produced gains in famous or traditional spiritual exemplars’ perceived influence (d=+.81, p<.05) and availability (d=+.66, p<.10), in self-efficacy for learning from spiritual exemplars (d=+.92, p<.05), and in nonmaterialistic aspirations (d=+0.65, p<.05).     

Clinical and statistical approaches to the assessment of brain damage in children

In an attempt at innovation in the clinical versus statistical prediction controversy, the present research examined three methods of assessing organic brain damage in a sample of sixty-eight 9- to 14-year-old children. Methods compared were clinical judgment (CP); existing actuarial norms (EAN); and derived statistical prediction (DSP), based on three psychological tests. The results were as follows: (a) None of the methods classified subjects significantly better than chance (p<.05); (b) there was no significant difference (p<.05) among the methods in terms of their rates of accurate classification; (c) CP based on combined tests did not result in higher predictive accuracy than those based on an individual test; (d) CP made after receiving feedback on accuracy showed an increase in number of correct classifications over prior CP; and (e) CP based on knowledge of the statistical prediction in addition to test data showed a higher rate of correct classification than DSP alone.     

Gender differences on the WPPSI, the WISC-R, and the WPPSI-R

The WPPSI, WISC-R, and WPPSI-R were administered in a counterbalanced design to 72 children between the ages of 5 years, 10 months, 16 days, and 6 years, 7 months, and 15 days to test the hypothesis that mean verbal IQs on these scales would be higher for boys than for girls. Results indicated that the mean verbal IQs for boys were significantly (p<.05) higher than those for girls on all three scales. Also, significant (p<.05) differences favoring boys were found onVocabulary andComprehension subtests on all three scales. These differences are probably a peculiarity of these scales and may not need any elaborate theoretical explanation. However, clinical uses of verbal and performance IQ discrepancies may not justifiably ignore the examinees’ gender.     

Physical activity: the relative associations with cognitive and affective risk beliefs

Abstract

Objective: The role of affectively oriented risk beliefs in explaining health behaviors has not been examined in the context of physical activity or in diverse study populations. We evaluated whether affective risk beliefs account for unique variance in physical activity intentions and behavior above and beyond that accounted for by cognitive risk beliefs.

Design: A cross-sectional survey of socio-demographically diverse US residents (N?=?835; 46.4% no college training; 46.7% minority racial/ethnic ancestry; 42.6% men).

Main outcome measures: Physical activity intentions and behavior.

Results: Hierarchical linear regressions showed that affective risk beliefs accounted for variance in physical activity intentions beyond that predicted by socio-demographics and cognitive risk beliefs (F-change ps<.001). Specifically, intentions were higher among people with higher anticipated regret (ps<.001) and with higher absolute feelings of risk (ps<.05) or worry (ps<.05). There was an indirect relationship between perceived absolute likelihood and intentions through anticipated regret and feelings of risk. Neither cognitive nor affective risk beliefs accounted for variance in physical activity behavior (F-change ps>.05), but unsurprisingly, behavior was positively associated with physical activity intentions (p<.001).

Conclusion: Future interventions could target affective risk beliefs—particularly anticipated regret—to increase intentions, and then add other intervention components to bridge the intention–behavior gap.     

Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence and Transformational Leadership Style: A Gender Comparison

This study examined the predictive relationship between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership style. The researchers also wanted to determine gender differences in the relationship between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership style, as well as the gender differences in the emotional intelligence scores and transformational leadership style of managers. A significant predictive relationship (p < .05) was found between transformational leadership style and emotional intelligence. No significant interaction (p < .05) was found between gender and emotional intelligence while predicting transformational leadership style. A significant difference (p < .05) was found in the emotional intelligence of scores of male and female managers. Lastly, no significant difference (p > .05) was found in the transformational leadership scores of male and female managers.     

Gender differences on the WPPSI,the WISC-R,and the WPPSI-R

The WPPSI, WISC-R, and WPPSI-R were administered in a counterbalanced design to 72 children between the ages of 5 years, 10 months, 16 days, and 6 years, 7 months, and 15 days to test the hypothesis that mean verbal IQs on these scales would be higher for boys than for girls. Results indicated that the mean verbal IQs for boys were significantly (p<.05) higher than those for girls on all three scales. Also, significant (p<.05) differences favoring boys were found onVocabulary andComprehension subtests on all three scales. These differences are probably a peculiarity of these scales and may not need any elaborate theoretical explanation. However, clinical uses of verbal and performance IQ discrepancies may not justifiably ignore the examinees’ gender.     

The Constancy of the Stanford-Binet IQ from Three to Five Years

Kindergarten and first-grade children giving nonintentional moral judgments were divided into three equated groups (Ns = 6), in each of two studies. Two groups performed with models (adult or peer) giving intentionality responses, with the third a control. During training, three Ss and three models in a group performing alternately were given social reinforcement for intentionality responses to Piaget-type stories. On an immediate posttest, both training groups in each study showed significant intentionality response gains from pretest and significantly exceeded their control group (ps < .05), while not differing significantly from each other. In study #2, a delayed posttest showed similar training durability for both training groups; both increased nonsignificantly in intentionality responses, continuing to exceed the controls (ps < .05).     

The Impact of an Operation Purple Camp Intervention on Military Children and Adolescents’ Self-Perception of Social Acceptance,Athletic Competence,and Global Self-Worth

In a pilot study we examined the effect of a one-week Operation Purple Camp intervention with children and adolescents (N = 48) in military families on their self-perception of social acceptance, athletic competence, and global self-worth. Adolescents’ showed significant improvement post-intervention in perceptions of social acceptance (p < .05) and athletic competence (p < .05) while children showed a significant improvement in perception of global self-worth (p < .05). These findings lend support for the effectiveness of this intervention for improving outcomes for children and adolescents in military families.     

The Role of Optimism/Pessimism in HRQOL in Chronic Hepatitis C Patients

One hundred and twenty three outpatients with compensated chronic hepatitis C (CHC) completed the SF-36, BSI, and questions regarding the expected impact of CHC on their health. Respondents were categorized as optimists (N = 17, 13.8%), realists (N = 98, 79.6%), and pessimists (N = 8, 6.5%). Pessimism was associated with lower scores on nearly all SF-36 subscales (p < .001 –.03) and higher scores on 6 BSI subscales indicative of greater emotional distress (p < .05). Pessimism was not associated with demographics, liver disease severity, substance abuse, or comorbid medical conditions. However, pessimism was associated with the presence of a psychiatric comorbidity and self-reported health status (p < .05). We conclude that optimism/pessimism may be an important determinant of QOL and emotional status in CHC patients and that additional studies of cognitive predispositions and coping skills in CHC patients are warranted.