The five factor model of personality: Openness a distinct but related construct

It has been argued that the Openness (O) dimension from the five factor model (FFM) of personality may in fact be an associate of the ability domain more than the personality domain. This paper explores this hypothesis using a sample of 101 managers. Participants completed the NEO-FFI and a measure of ability assessing the construct as typical performance. This measure was an occupational specific measure of typical intellectual engagement (TIE), termed the “problem solving through challenge” PSC scale. A combination of LISREL CFA and hierarchical multiple linear regression (HMLR) indicated that in fact O was a distinct but related construct to the other four dimensions of the FFM (N, E, A and C), but that O was more strongly correlated with PSC than the other dimensions. These results are taken to indicate that O, while associated with personality, assesses something to do with problem solving as a personality trait. Further the results suggest that E linked O to the other personality scales.     

Nature vs. nurture is nonsense: On the necessity of an integrated genetic,social, developmental,and personality psychology

The field of behavioural genetics unambiguously demonstrates that heritable individual differences exist and are important in explaining human behaviour. Despite this, some psychological perspectives ignore this research. If we wish to comprehensively understand the impact of parenting, the environment, or any social factor, however, we must engage with genetics. In this article, I review research that reveals that genes affect not only our personalities, but the way that we understand and react to the social world. Studies further reveal that notable life events are in part explained by genetic variance. I detail how this could be the case through active, evocative, and passive genetic correlations, and go on to argue that all complex psychological traits are likely the result of multifaceted gene by environment interactions. A mistaken belief that genetic influence implies genetic essentialism, and is therefore tantamount to prejudice, is raised as possible reason why heritability is often ignored in the social sciences. The article concludes with practical suggestions for how we can embrace behavioural genetics as our methods struggle to match the divine complexity of human existence.     

Validation of a reflective thinking instrument for third-year undergraduate nursing students participating in high-fidelity simulation

Background: nursing students are required to think reflectively in both real and simulated clinical practice. Although the Reflective Thinking instrument is reliable in its measurement of reflective thinking, its validity is unknown. Method: confirmatory factor analysis was undertaken in an iterative manner within a non-equivalent control-group study to measure nursing students’ reflective thinking and satisfaction with high-fidelity simulation. The validity and reliability of the Reflective Thinking instrument was tested. Results: the resulting instrument consisted of 15 items across four factors. The final model was plausible as it demonstrated ‘goodness of fit’; however, it had neither convergent or discriminatory validity, nor reliability. Internal consistency was fair to reasonable for the four subscales. Conclusion: the testing of the Reflective Thinking instrument using confirmatory factor analysis is a vital initial step in the modification of this instrument. Further development using exploratory factor analysis will enhance the instrument’s relevance within high-fidelity simulation.     

No evidence for a role of reconsolidation in updating of paired associates

Reconsolidation theory states that memories are labilized through reactivation, making them prone to change, before being re-consolidated. When information in memory requires updating, reconsolidation theory therefore predicts that reminders of previously learned information should facilitate updating of that information and should thus improve memory for the updated information. In two experiments, we tested this prediction by investigating memory for word pairs over a short time-scale. Participants studied word pairs (A–B), some of which were subsequently updated with word pairs that shared the first word (A–C). Half of the A–C pairs received a pre-study reminder of the first word in the pair so as to reactivate and labilize A–B memory. In a recognition memory test targeting the A–C list, reminders by and large had no effect on memory. Results thus failed to support the predictions of reconsolidation theory.     

Parental Morality and Family Processes as Predictors of Adolescent Morality

This study investigated the extent to which parents' moral thought and family processes are involved in the socialization of adolescent moral thought. Olson et al's (1992) Circumplex Model and White's (2000) Family Socialization Model provided the conceptual framework for predicting that families high in cohesion, adaptability and communication would facilitate the transmission of moral values between parents and adolescents more effectively than families low in these family processes. Results involving 218 adolescent-parent dyads revealed that perceived family cohesion and communication moderated the father-adolescent moral thought relationship; that several facets of both parents' morality significantly predicted adolescents' morality; and that all three family processes significantly predicted certain aspects of adolescent morality. Therefore the extent to which parents' socialize adolescent moral values will vary according to each parent's moral view, the strength of family processes and the content of moral thought being transmitted.     

The validity and incremental validity of knowledge tests, low-fidelity simulations, and high-fidelity simulations for predicting job performance in advanced-level high-stakes selection

In high-stakes selection among candidates with considerable domain-specific knowledge and experience, investigations of whether high-fidelity simulations (assessment centers; ACs) have incremental validity over low-fidelity simulations (situational judgment tests; SJTs) are lacking. Therefore, this article integrates research on the validity of knowledge tests, low-fidelity simulations, and high-fidelity simulations in advanced-level high-stakes settings. A model and hypotheses of how these 3 predictors work in combination to predict job performance were developed. In a sample of 196 applicants, all 3 predictors were significantly related to job performance. Both the SJT and the AC had incremental validity over the knowledge test. Moreover, the AC had incremental validity over the SJT. Model tests showed that the SJT fully mediated the effects of declarative knowledge on job performance, whereas the AC partially mediated the effects of the SJT.     

Accelerating self-motion displays produce more compelling vection in depth

We examined the vection in depth induced when simulated random self-accelerations (jitter) and periodic self-accelerations (oscillation) were added to radial expanding optic flow (simulating constant-velocity forward self-motion). Contrary to the predictions of sensory-conflict theory frontal-plane jitter and oscillation were both found to significantly decrease the onsets and increase the speeds of vection in depth. Depth jitter and oscillation had lesser, but still significant, effects on the speed of vection in depth. A control experiment demonstrated that adding global perspective motion which simulated a constant-velocity frontal-plane self-motion had no significant effect on vection in depth induced by the radial component of the optic flow. These results are incompatible with the notion that constant-velocity displays produce optimal vection. Rather, they indicate that displays simulating self-acceleration can often produce more compelling experiences of self-motion in depth.     

Helping the cognitive system learn: exaggerating distinctiveness and uniqueness

The caricature advantage demonstrates that performance is better when exaggerated stimuli are presented rather than a faithful image. This can be understood with respect to a theoretical framework in which caricaturing maximises the distinctiveness and thus minimises any perceptual or representational confusion. In this study we examine the possibility to harness caricatures to enhance learning. Thus, during learning the caricatures help the cognitive system pick up the unique and distinctive features of the learned material. This in turn helps to construct representations that correctly direct attention to the critical information. We trained 113 participants to identify aircraft across any orientation and found that the use of caricature is advantageous. However, the caricature advantage was most effective in complex learning where it is difficult to differentiate among different aircraft. Furthermore, the caricature advantage for subsequent recognition is attenuated when over‐learning has been achieved. These results are discussed in terms of the learning situations in which caricatures can be most effective in enhancing learning. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.