The computer revolution in psychometrics

Summary We have said that psychometric methods involving algorithms are completely objective—at least they are if the algorithm is in the form of a program for a digital computer. These objective procedures need Monte Carlo and other computer runs to determine their properties, but so do many equation-oriented techniques. The objective algorithms are flexible but not flaccid. They offer a way of dealing with complexities that formerly seemed beyond our grasp. As the computer revolution continues in psychometrics, we can expect objective algorithmic methods to become the rule rather than the exception.Presidential address delivered at the annual meeting of the Psychometric Society, New York, New York, September 3, 1966.This paper was prepared while the author was a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. The investigation was supported by a Public Health Service fellowship, 1 F3, MH-28, 495-01 (PS), from the National Institute of Mental Health.     

On the factor score controversy

A summary and interpretation of the recent literature on the indeterminacy of factor scores is given in simple terms. A good index of factor score determinacy is the squared multiple correlation of the factor with the observed variables.     

Stay Loyal or Exit the Party? How Openness to Experience and Extroversion Explain Vote Switching

Following Hirschman, voters who are discontent with the party they voted for have two options: exit the party and vote for another or stay loyal. The inclination to exit or stay loyal is rooted in the Five Factor Model (FFM) of personality. We test our argument in two panel studies in Denmark and the United Kingdom. We find that citizens open to experience are more likely to switch parties since they are more likely to think about alternatives and take risks. Extroverts identify and commit themselves to organizations and stay loyal in Denmark, but we do not confirm this pattern in the United Kingdom. Our findings demonstrate that electoral volatility is, at least partly, rooted in personality.     

What’s in a word? Using construal-level theory to predict voice endorsement

ABSTRACT

Voice endorsement is a pivotal means by which employees can influence leadership processes and the organization at large. Up till now, research on voice endorsement has lacked unified theoretical frameworks that can shed light on antecedents of voice endorsement in a more integrative way as well as help identify new and relevant antecedents in a systematic and theory-based manner. We propose that construal-level theory can serve as one such unifying framework and showcase this potential by applying it to voice endorsement. Drawing on construal-level theory we propose that when an employee frames his/her voice messages in a manner that is compatible with the psychological distance between the employee and the supervisor, the supervisor will find the employee’s voice messages easier to process and, consequently, will be more likely to endorse them. Three experiments using different manipulations of voice message frame and psychological distance, and a mini meta-analysis of the three experiments, provide support for our construal compatibility hypothesis and initial evidence for the experienced ease-of-processing logic. We discuss how our construal-level approach to voice endorsement can shed light on previous findings as well as open up new avenues for future research.     

Transient overexpression of the 5-HT1A receptor impairs water-maze but not hole-board performance

Previously, we showed that mice that overexpress the 5-HT(1A) receptor transiently from embryonic to perinatal stages show reduced anxiety and changes in brain serotonin turnover as adults. Here, we investigated the long-term effects of the temporary overexpression of the 5-HT(1A) receptor during early embryonic and perinatal development on the performance in two memory tasks. In the hole-board test mice that were homozygous for the transgene showed similar behavioral habituation but increased locomotion compared to heterozygous mice. In contrast water-maze performance of homozygous mice was impaired compared to heterozygous mice. These results suggest that a transient overexpression of 5-HT(1A) receptor during embryonic and perinatal development has detrimental effects on water-maze performance at adult stages.