Developing equivalent Chinese and English scale‐point labels for rating scales used in survey research

Rating scales are the most frequently‐used response tool in surveys, and the scale levels are commonly described with words [verbal scale‐point labels (VSPL)]. In this study, Chinese VSPL were identified which employ five‐point scales that are psychometrically equivalent to English VSPL. In several bilingual studies, a total of 61 Chinese and 44 English items addressing intensity, frequency, and agreement rating modalities were tested. For each VSPL, three aspects were measured: position between minimum and maximum, familiarity, and appeal. The correspondence between pertinent Chinese and English words was also assessed. Based on these findings, we recommend specific VSPL that are best‐suited for achieving equivalence between Chinese and English in rating scales.     

Visual perception in fencing: Do the eye movements of fencers represent their information pickup?

The present study examined whether results of athletes' eye movements while they observe fencing attacks reflect their actual information pickup by comparing these results with others gained with temporal and spatial occlusion and cuing techniques. Fifteen top-ranking expert fencers, 15 advanced fencers, and 32 sport students predicted the target region of 405 fencing attacks on a computer monitor. Results of eye movement recordings showed a stronger foveal fixation on the opponent's trunk and weapon in the two fencer groups. Top-ranking expert fencers fixated particularly on the upper trunk. This matched their performance decrements in the spatial occlusion condition. However, when the upper trunk was occluded, participants also shifted eye movements to neighboring body regions. Adding cues to the video material had no positive effects on prediction performance. We conclude that gaze behavior does not necessarily represent information pickup, but that studies applying the spatial occlusion paradigm should also register eye movements to avoid underestimating the information contributed by occluded regions.     

The relation between infant freezing and the development of internalizing symptoms in adolescence: A prospective longitudinal study

Given the long‐lasting detrimental effects of internalizing symptoms, there is great need for detecting early risk markers. One promising marker is freezing behavior. Whereas initial freezing reactions are essential for coping with threat, prolonged freezing has been associated with internalizing psychopathology. However, it remains unknown whether early life alterations in freezing reactions predict changes in internalizing symptoms during adolescent development. In a longitudinal study (N = 116), we tested prospectively whether observed freezing in infancy predicted the development of internalizing symptoms from childhood through late adolescence (until age 17). Both longer and absent infant freezing behavior during a standard challenge (robot‐confrontation task) were associated with internalizing symptoms in adolescence. Specifically, absent infant freezing predicted a relative increase in internalizing symptoms consistently across development from relatively low symptom levels in childhood to relatively high levels in late adolescence. Longer infant freezing also predicted a relative increase in internalizing symptoms, but only up until early adolescence. This latter effect was moderated by peer stress and was followed by a later decrease in internalizing symptoms. The findings suggest that early deviations in defensive freezing responses signal risk for internalizing symptoms and may constitute important markers in future stress vulnerability and resilience studies.     

The influence of episodic memory decline on value-based choice

Recent studies suggest the involvement of episodic memory in value-based decisions as a source of information about subjective values of choice options. We therefore tested the link between age-related memory decline and inconsistencies in value-based decisions in 30 cognitively healthy older adults. Within the pre-registered experiment, the inconsistencies were measured in two ways: i) the consistency between stated preferences and revealed choices; ii) the amount of intransitivities in choice triplets, revealed in a forced paired choice task including all possible pairings of 20 food products. Although no significant association of memory functions to number of intransitive triplets was observed, participants with lower memory scores were more likely to choose the item for which they stated a lower preference. The results suggest a higher noise in the underlying preference signal in participants with lower memory. We discuss the results in the context of the unique needs of elderly consumers.     

In search of the active ingredient of respect: a closer look at the role of acceptance

The experiment (N = 67) tested whether the effectiveness of intragroup respect can be traced back to the symbolic value of intragroup respect as a sign or message of acceptance. In addition to intragroup respect, intragroup acceptance was manipulated as a second independent variable so that the hypothesized acceptance message of intragroup respect was either confirmed or undermined. Collective identification and willingness to engage in group‐serving behaviour were the main dependent variables. Mediation tests—based on the experimental manipulations as well as additional measurement of the critical variables—provided no evidence that intragroup acceptance is the active ingredient of intragroup respect. Instead, we replicated the respect effects known from the literature and secured further evidence of their internal validity. We also found an effect of intragroup acceptance similar to that of intragroup respect, but the former was mediated by feelings of being liked which played no role in intragroup respect. Theoretical and methodological implications of the results are discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role of collective identification in social movement participation: a panel study in the context of the German gay movement

The authors conducted a panel study with two points of measurement throughout a 12-month interval in the context of the German gay movement to test the predictive power of collective identification in subsequent actual social movement participation. Regression analyses including cross-lagged panel analyses clearly confirmed the hypothesized unique predictive value of identification with a formal social movement organization above and beyond the role the collective, normative, and reward motives traditionally considered in social movement research. Of the three motives, the normative motive was particularly predictive. Moreover, data from an additional telephone follow-up (3 years after the initial measurement) suggests that when the conflict with political opponents becomes particularly fierce, identification with the broader recruitment category, which was previously ineffective as a unique predictor, can politicize to such an extent that it also becomes a strong predictor of participation.     

Personality in cyberspace: personal Web sites as media for personality expressions and impressions

This research examined the personality of owners of personal Web sites based on self-reports, visitors' ratings, and the content of the Web sites. The authors compared a large sample of Web site owners with population-wide samples on the Big Five dimensions of personality. Controlling for demographic differences, the average Web site owner reported being slightly less extraverted and more open to experience. Compared with various other samples, Web site owners did not generally differ on narcissism, self-monitoring, or self-esteem, but gender differences on these traits were often smaller in Web site owners. Self-other agreement was highest with Openness to Experience, but valid judgments of all Big Five dimensions were derived from Web sites providing rich information. Visitors made use of quantifiable features of the Web site to infer personality, and the cues they utilized partly corresponded to self-reported traits.     

On the Emotional Character of Trust

Trustful interaction serves the interests of those involved. Thus, one could reason that trust itself may be analyzed as part of rational, goaloriented action. In contrast, common sense tells us that trust is an emotion and is, therefore, independent of rational deliberation to some extent. I will argue that we are right in trusting our common sense. My argument is conceptual in nature, referring to the common distinction between trust and pure reliance. An emotional attitude may be understood as some general pattern in the way the world or some part of the world is perceived by an individual. Trust may be characterized by such a pattern. I shall focus on two central features of a trusting attitude. First, trust involves a participant attitude (Strawson) toward the person being trusted. Second, a situation of trust is perceived by a trusting person as one in which shared values or norms motivate both his own actions as well as those of the person being trusted. As an emotional attitude, trust is, to some extent, independent of objective information. It determines what a trusting person will believe and how various outcomes are evaluated. Hence, trust is quite different from rational belief and the problem with trust is not adequately met in minimizing risk by supplying extensive information or some mechanism of sanctioning. Trust is an attitude that enables us to cope with risk in a certain way. If we want to promote trustful interaction, we must form our institutions in ways that allow individuals to experience their interest and values as shared and, thus, to develop a trusting attitude.