A test of theory of planned behavior in Korea: participation in alcohol-related social gatherings

Two studies are reported using the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to predict and explain joining and not joining alcohol-related social gatherings among Korean undergraduates in various engineering majors. Specifically, considering that the attitudinal component of TPB is behavioral-outcome-based, the current study investigated whether the outcomes of engaging in a behavior and of not engaging in a behavior would similarly predict intentions to engage in a behavior and intentions to not engage in a behavior. The current study also examined whether intentions to engage and intentions to not engage would be significantly related to self-reported behavior a week later. Participants in Study 1 reported TPB components (attitudes toward behavior, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and behavioral intentions) concerning joining alcohol-related social gatherings. Participants in Study 2 reported TPB components concerning not joining alcohol-related social gatherings. Additionally, a week later, the participants in both studies reported their participation in alcohol-related social gatherings from the past week. Generally, the results showed that the TPB components were significantly associated with undergraduates' intentions to join and intentions to not join. Specifically, conversation-related attitudes and senior-junior relationship-related attitudes were significantly related to intentions to join, and only group-related attitudes were significantly related to intentions to not join. Intentions to join and intentions to not join were not significantly related to self-reported behavior of joining alcohol-related social gatherings a week later. The findings from the current research provide some evidence that joining or not joining alcohol-related social gatherings may not be mere behavioral opposites, predictable by the presence or absence of the same behavioral outcomes. These two aspects of the behavior may require assessment of different behavioral outcomes or different assessments of the same behavioral outcomes.     

Memory markers: How consumers recall the duration of experiences

In the present article, we propose a three-stage memory marker model of memory for experience. The human mind generates and encodes “memory markers” of specific episodes, stores them in memory, and after a temporal delay retrieves these markers to reconstruct the experience and make relevant judgments. Rich experiences characterized by vivid stimuli seem to pass by quickly, yet feel longer when recalled after a period of time because the number of retrieved memory markers is large. We also examine situations in which key predictions of the memory marker model can be moderated. A field study and five laboratory experiments were conducted to test various aspects of the memory marker model and provide process support.     

Connecting Asians in global perspective: Special Issue on past contributions, current status and future prospects for Asian social psychology

This Special Issue (SI), which marks the 10th anniversary of the Asian Journal of Social Psychology , carries the triple roles of taking stock of the past, scouting the present, and envisioning the future. In so doing, it connects with the 6th biennial conference of the Asian Association of Social Psychology held in 2005, in which several keynote speakers (Atsumi, Hofstede, Leung, and Ward) addressed the same troika of concerns. Together with invited commentary from Chiu and Matsumoto they form the substance of this SI. As SI Editors, we read the papers several times, for what they were and, just as enlightening, for what they were not. In the process, we reflected on what is social about Asian social psychology and, equally intriguing, on what is Asian about it. The (tentative) conclusion that we have reached is that a practical and creative social psychology that is in, of, and for Asia, and defines itself as a network of like-minded collaborators gathered around a central purpose rather than as a geographic or genetic entity will have the best chance of realizing the potential of Asian social psychology.     

A lesson from Katrina: pastoral care from an Asian theological perspective

Situating pastoral caregivers in the dramatic catastrophe caused by hurricane "Katrina" in New Orleans, this article attempts to address some appropriate pastoral responses toward the disaster from an Asian theological perspective. The article highlights the significance of remembrance and connection rather than repression and forgetfulness in order to bring justice to all victims of Katrina. It builds on Jacoby's "social amnesia," calls for redefining the meaning of community, and attempts to address the human predicaments on the surface of Katrina through an Asian perspective. In order to address pastoral responses, the article builds upon Martin Luther King, Jr.'s concept of interrelatedness and shared destiny. It critically examines Jung Young Lee's theology of marginality, and draws the pastoral implications of this theology of marginality with respect to Katrina.     

Expertise in Deception Detection Involves Actively Prompting Diagnostic Information Rather Than Passive Behavioral Observation

In a proof‐of‐concept study, an expert obtained 100% deception‐detection accuracy over 33 interviews. Tapes of the interactions were shown to N = 136 students who obtained 79.1% accuracy (Mdn = 83.3%, mode = 100%). The findings were replicated in a second experiment with 5 different experts who collectively conducted 89 interviews. The new experts were 97.8% accurate in cheating detection and 95.5% accurate at detecting who cheated. A sample of N = 34 students watched a random sample of 36 expert interviews and obtained 93.6% accuracy. The data suggest that experts can accurately distinguish truths from lies when they are allowed to actively question a potential liar, and nonexperts can obtain high accuracy when viewing expertly questioned senders.     

A reliability generalization study of the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (F-MPS)

Perfectionism has been identified as a common concern among clients who seek counseling services. For more than 20 years, the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (F-MPS) has been used extensively to measure the construct of individuals' perfectionism. The current study used reliability generalization to identify the average score reliability as well as variables explaining the variability of score reliability. Typical reliability across subscale scores ranged from .71 to.86 with the Doubt about Action subscale showing the least variability and the Organization subscale showing the most. In addition, sex, language, and standard deviation of the scale had statistically significant relations to reliability estimates.     

The Use of Exploratory Factor Analysis and Principal Components Analysis in Communication Research

Exploratory factor analysis is a popular statistical technique used in communication research. Although exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and principal components analysis (PCA) are different techniques, PCA is often employed incorrectly to reveal latent constructs (i.e., factors) of observed variables, which is the purpose of EFA. PCA is more appropriate for reducing measured variables into a smaller set of variables (i.e., components) by keeping as much variance as possible out of the total variance in the measured variables. Furthermore, the popular use of varimax rotation raises some concerns about the relationships among the factors that researchers claim to discover. This paper discusses the distinct purposes of PCA and EFA, using two data sets as examples to highlight the differences in results between these procedures, and also reviews the use of each technique in three major communication journals: Communication Monographs, Human Communication Research, and Communication Research.