Raw Data Maximum Likelihood Estimation for Common Principal Component Models: A State Space Approach

The specifications of state space model for some principal component-related models are described, including the independent-group common principal component (CPC) model, the dependent-group CPC model, and principal component-based multivariate analysis of variance. Some derivations are provided to show the equivalence of the state space approach and the existing Wishart-likelihood approach. For each model, a numeric example is used to illustrate the state space approach. In addition, a simulation study is conducted to evaluate the standard error estimates under the normality and nonnormality conditions. In order to cope with the nonnormality conditions, the robust standard errors are also computed. Finally, other possible applications of the state space approach are discussed at the end.     

The effect of the two feet-in-the-door technique on tobacco deprivation

The ‘Foot-in-the-door’ (FITD) is a well-known compliance technique that increases compliance with a request. Many investigations on this paradigm have generally used prosocial requests to test the effect of the technique. A new evaluation of the effect of the FITD technique was carried out on tobacco deprivation. A two feet-in-the-door technique in which the target request was preceded by two small target requests was used to encourage students to stop smoking for 24 h. The results were compared with two single foot-in-the- door procedures in which the final request was only preceded by one small request, as well as with a control condition using only a 24 h stop-smoking request. Results showed that the single FITD and the two feet-in-the-door procedures were effective to increase verbal compliance (accepting to stop smoking) but only the two feet-in-the-door technique significantly increased behavioural compliance (not smoking for 24 h) with the request.     

Happiness and Stock-Market Participation: Empirical Evidence from China

Using the data from the China Household Finance Survey in 2011, we study the relation between happiness and stockholding. We find that a household’s propensity of investing in stocks or mutual funds, as well as household asset shares invested in stocks or mutual funds, is strongly associated with happiness. Moreover, empirical results suggest that among the three potential channels we propose, the association between happiness and stockholding is driven by trust (or social capital), rather than households’ risk preference or optimism level.     

Preliminary Evaluation of a Social Skills Training and Facilitated Play Early Intervention Programme for Extremely Shy Young Children in China

The goal of this study was to provide a preliminary evaluation of a social skills and facilitated play early intervention programme to promote social interaction, prosocial behaviours and socio‐communicative skills among young extremely shy children in China. Participants were a sample of n = 16 extremely shy young children attending kindergarten in Shanghai, China. Children were randomly assigned to either the Social Skills Facilitated Play or comparison condition. Baseline, post‐intervention and 2‐month follow‐up measures included observations of children's social behaviours in quartets of novel peers. Result indicated that as compared with shy controls, shy children who participated in the Social Skills Training Facilitated Play programme were observed to demonstrate significantly greater post‐intervention frequencies of peer interactions (e.g. group play and peer conversation) and prosocial behaviours (e.g. cooperation, sharing and making/accepting social initiations) during unstructured free play with novel peers, as well as better social‐communicative competence during a speech task. Almost all of these improvements were maintained 2 months post‐intervention. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of developing and refining early intervention programmes for extremely shy young children in China. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adult Learners’ Informal Learning Experiences in Formal Education Setting

Schools typically ignore an enormous part of students’ learning, i.e. informal learning. Such informal processes include intentional, incidental, and tacit learning and tend to be unnoticed because of their taken-for-granted nature. By conducting in-depth interviews with 15 students, two teachers, and two program coordinators of an adult education program, this study examines informal learning outcomes, processes, and personal informal learning experiences within formal education. The study aimed to reveal the interaction between formal and informal learning as well as the respondents’ experiences in this matter. Respondents report a diverse array of informal learning results. Respondents describe informal learning to occur through self-directed learning projects, daily conversations and experiences, and the program’s informal and hidden curriculum. According to respondents, informal learning has the potential to enrich and complement formal learning. Moreover, the findings point to potential personal, educational, and societal benefits of revealing informal learning within formal education. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

Inconsistent Condom Use and History of Trauma Among Vietnamese Female Sex Workers in a Chinese Border Region

Previous studies have indicated a potential association between trauma, such as physical violence, emotional violence and sexual violence, and high-risk sexual behavior. Female sex workers (FSWs) were interviewed to elicit history of traumatic events and sexual behaviors. Among 187 participants, 79 (42.2 %) inconsistently used condoms with clients in the past 30 days. Experiencing community violence (OR: 0.4; 95 % CI: 0.2, 0.8) was found to be significantly protective for inconsistent condom use. In this study, experiencing community violence was found to be protective for inconsistent condom use among FSWs, but none of the other trauma subgroups had significant associations with inconsistent condom use. Reasons for unprotected sex among FSW may be more related to economic or other contextual factors.     

Christ in the Limelight: Contemporary Films and Christological Discourse

The aim of this article is to show how theology can, through the medium of film, engage contemporary interpretations of Jesus’ person and work. Starting out by tracing the development taking place in films about Jesus throughout the twentieth century, the focus then moves to a theological reading of Mel Gibson's interpretation of the passion story for the twenty‐first century in his movie The Passion of the Christ.     

When actions speak volumes: The role of inferences about moral character in outrage over racial bigotry

Inferences about moral character may often drive outrage over symbolic acts of racial bigotry. Study 1 demonstrates a theoretically predicted dissociation between moral evaluations of an act and the person who carries out the act. Although Americans regarded the private use of a racial slur as a less blameworthy act than physical assault, use of a slur was perceived as a clearer indicator of poor moral character. Study 2 highlights the dynamic interplay between moral judgments of acts and persons, demonstrating that first making person judgments can bias subsequent act judgments. Privately defacing a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr. led to greater moral condemnation of the agent than of the act itself only when the behavior was evaluated first. When Americans first made character judgments, symbolically defacing a picture of the civil rights leader was significantly more likely to be perceived as an immoral act. These studies support a person‐centered account of outrage over bigotry and demonstrate that moral evaluations of acts and persons converge and diverge under theoretically meaningful circumstances. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Review of Issues About Classical Change Scores: A Multilevel Modeling Perspective on Some Enduring Beliefs

Change scores obtained in pretest–posttest designs are important for evaluating treatment effectiveness and for assessing change of individual test scores in psychological research. However, over the years the use of change scores has raised much controversy. In this article, from a multilevel perspective, we provide a structured treatise on several persistent negative beliefs about change scores and show that these beliefs originated from the confounding of the effects of within-person change on change-score reliability and between-person change differences. We argue that psychometric properties of change scores, such as reliability and measurement precision, should be treated at suitable levels within a multilevel framework. We show that, if examined at the suitable levels with such a framework, the negative beliefs about change scores can be renounced convincingly. Finally, we summarize the conclusions about change scores to dispel the myths and to promote the potential and practical usefulness of change scores.