Autocorrelation problems in short time series

The work of Huitema (1985) on autocorrelation in behavioral data suggests that the use of conventional statistical methods is justified. The present study restates the problem of autocorrelation by analyzing 100 baselines of small samples designs published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis during 1992. The results show a negative bias in the autocorrelations, especially with very small samples. The autocorrelation values are normally distributed, and the method of Davies, Trigg, and Newbold (1977) is the most accurate in calculating the standard deviation.     

The sunk cost effect in pigeons and humans

The sunk cost effect is the increased tendency to persist in an endeavor once an investment of money, effort, or time has been made. To date, humans are the only animal in which this effect has been observed unambiguously. We developed a behavior-analytic model of the sunk cost effect to explore the potential for this behavior in pigeons as well as in humans. Each trial started out with a short expected ratio, but on some trials assumed a longer expected ratio part way through the trial. Subjects had the (usually preferable) option of "escaping" the trial if the longer expected ratio had come into effect in order to bring on a new trial that again had a short expected ratio. In Experiments 1 through 3, we manipulated two independent variables that we hypothesized would affect the pigeons' ability to discriminate the increase in the expected ratio within a trial: (a) the presence or absence of stimuli that signal an increase in the expected ratio, and (b) the severity of the increase in the expected ratio. We found that the pigeons were most likely to persist nonoptimally through the longer expected ratios when stimulus changes were absent and when the increase in the expected ratio was less severe. Experiment 4 employed a similar procedure with human subjects that manipulated only the severity of the increase in the expected ratio and found a result similar to that of the pigeon experiment. In Experiment 5, we tested the hypothesis that a particular history of reinforcement would induce pigeons to persist through the longer expected ratios; the results suggested instead that the history of reinforcement caused the pigeons to persist less compared to pigeons that did not have that history.     

A longitudinal test of social cognitive career theory's academic persistence model among Latino/a and White men and women engineering students

This study tested Social Cognitive Career Theory's (SCCT) academic persistent model among engineering students from a longitudinal perspective and examined whether relations among the variables in the model differed between Whites and Latinos/as and between men and women engineering majors. Three hundred fifty engineering student participants (172 Latino/as; 155 Whites; 23 mixed race) who were attending a Hispanic-serving institution in the Southwest completed measures of math/science ACT, college GPA, engineering self-efficacy, engineering goals, and persistence. The academic persistence model within the engineering domain provided an excellent fit to the data. Significant group differences between women and men were found; however, there were no group differences across ethnicity. Implication for further research and interventions based on SCCT's academic persistence model are discussed in relation to academic persistence in engineering for women and Latinos/as.     

Addicted to the Thrill of the Virtual Hunt: Examining the Effects of Internet Addiction on the Cyberstalking Behaviors of Juveniles

The rapid advancement of technology has produced several substantial benefits that enrich individuals’ lives, but some also note that technology has provided new methods to engage in crime—particularly stalking. This investigation was one of the first to explore whether a relationship existed between cyberstalking and a new phenomenon becoming a pressing issue in the lives of adolescents: Internet Addiction. High school students in a rural North Carolina country were surveyed about their Internet behaviors and experiences. After analysis, the results indicated there is a significant relationship between Internet Addiction and cyberstalking in adolescents.     

Should we rely on the Kenward–Roger approximation when using linear mixed models if the groups have different distributions?

The study explores the robustness to violations of normality and sphericity of linear mixed models when they are used with the Kenward–Roger procedure (KR) in split‐plot designs in which the groups have different distributions and sample sizes are small. The focus is on examining the effect of skewness and kurtosis. To this end, a Monte Carlo simulation study was carried out, involving a split‐plot design with three levels of the between‐subjects grouping factor and four levels of the within‐subjects factor. The results show that: (1) the violation of the sphericity assumption did not affect KR robustness when the assumption of normality was not fulfilled; (2) the robustness of the KR procedure decreased as skewness in the distributions increased, there being no strong effect of kurtosis; and (3) the type of pairing between kurtosis and group size was shown to be a relevant variable to consider when using this procedure, especially when pairing is positive (i.e., when the largest group is associated with the largest value of the kurtosis coefficient and the smallest group with its smallest value). The KR procedure can be a good option for analysing repeated‐measures data when the groups have different distributions, provided the total sample sizes are 45 or larger and the data are not highly or extremely skewed.     

Evaluation of the effects a caregiver training programme has on the cognitive and functional maintenance of the elderly / Valoración de los efectos de un programa de formación de cuidadores sobre el mantenimiento cognitivo y funcional de ancianos

Abstract

With the increase in the elderly population comes a need to ensure they remain cognitively and functionally stable for as long as possible. Achieving this through a caregiver training programme based on the Person Centred Care (PCC) approach has been suggested. On this basis, the purpose of this study has been to evaluate the effectiveness of a caregiver training programme on the cognitive and functional maintenance of the elderly. The study sample comprised 56 elderly people and 14 caregivers, who were assessed using the MMSE, Clifton, Barthel, EuroQol, RMBPC (elderly) and SSFQ (caregivers) measurement scales. The results at intergroup level show significant differences in the pre-treatment assessment: the control group had higher scores for MMSE, Barthel, EuroQol and RMPBC scales, but that difference disappeared as scores for the treatment group increased. At an intragroup level, increases in scores were observed in the MMSE, Clifton and EuroQol scales for the treatment group and decreases in the Clifton, EuroQol and Barthel scales for the control group. From these results we can conclude that a caregiver training programme based on a PCC approach produces cognitive and functional benefits in the elderly. In addition, caregivers in the treatment group felt more competent, confident and satisfied with their work.     

Haptic modality takes its time: Dynamic of activations of sensory modalities in perceptual and memory processes

Based on claims resulting from grounded cognition theory that perceptual and memory processes are using the same distributed systems, the present study investigated the temporal aspect of access to memory traces through haptic and auditory modalities. Unlike in the case of visual or auditory components, the perception of a vibrotactile component is more sequential in nature and therefore cannot be fully processed before the end of the signal. The present study explores the dynamic of components activation in a situation of audio‐vibrotactile asynchrony. We used a short‐term priming paradigm consisting of an association phase (between a vibration and sound) and a test phase testing priming effect of a vibrotactile stimulation on the processing of a target sound. Results showed an interference with a simultaneous processing and a facilitation with a sequential processing. The temporality process of perceptual components is also important at a memory level.     

Deconstructing the Associations of Religiosity,Christian Denominations,and Non-Religions to Rape Myth Acceptance among University Students

Minimal research exists regarding the relationship between rape myth acceptance and religion. This study assessed rape myth acceptance of 503 university students’ disaggregated by five religious identities from 21 Division I postsecondary institutions. Except for Presbyterians, females disagree with rape myths at greater levels than males. Religiosity is a non-predictor for rape myth acceptance after controlling for students’ demographic and lifestyle characteristics. The least religious (Agnostics and Atheists) reject rape myths, whereas the most religious (Baptists and Presbyterians) show non-relationships with rape myths. Catholics accept rape myths, and religiosity functions as a moderator as highly religious Catholics reject rape myths.     

Academic Plagiarism: Explanatory Factors from Students’ Perspective

The study of academic plagiarism among university students is at an embryonic stage in Spain and in the other Spanish-speaking countries. This article reports the results of a research, carried out in a medium-sized Spanish university, based on a double method approach—quantitative and qualitative—concerning the factors associated with academic plagiarism from the students’ perspective. The main explanatory factors of the phenomenon, according to the results obtained, are: a) aspects and behaviour of students (bad time management, personal shortcomings when preparing assignments, the elevated number of assignments to be handed in, etc.); b) the opportunities conferred by information and communication technologies to locate, copy and paste information; and, finally, c) aspects related to professors-lecturers and/or the characteristics of the subject-course (lecturers who show no interest in their work, eminently theoretical subjects and assignments, etc.).     

Adaptation and validation of the Spanish version of the Sport Anxiety Scale SAS-2 for young athletes

The aim of this study is to design a Spanish version of the Sport Anxiety Scale (SAS-2). The questionnaire, originally developed by the Washington University research group in sport psychology to evaluate anxiety in young athletes, was translated and adapted following the APA protocol and its psychometric properties were assessed through internal consistency analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and validity evidence. The Spanish version of the Sport Anxiety Scale has revealed good internal consistency indexes in each subscale and its factor structure has faithfully replicated the one obtained in the original measure. Results indicate that the adapted version of the questionnaire is an adequate and valid measure for the assessment of anxiety in young athletes.