Nonlinear analyses in sales research: theoretical bases and analytical considerations for polynomial models

Despite theoretical bases that may support nonlinear relationships, there is a relative paucity of studies testing these effects in organisational and behavioural research. Theories hypothesising linear associations among variables in sales research found to have low predictive validity are prime candidates for re-conceptualisation with theories predicting nonlinear relationships. In the sales domain, while nonlinear-oriented theories have been advanced and many nonlinear associations have been explored, myriad additional variables may possess theoretically-based nonlinear relationships with key sales-related outcomes. Further, nonlinear integration can be useful in improving linear analyses involving moderation. The purpose of this article is to expound upon and promote the utilisation of theoretically-driven nonlinear analyses in sales research. In this pursuit, the article delineates the rationale for nonlinear examinations and provides an extensive review of nonlinear research conducted in the extant sales literature. Based on this review, theoretical bases used to support nonlinear hypotheses are advanced and types of polynomial tests are identified. Additionally, guidelines in conducting and interpreting main effect and moderated polynomial analyses are provided along with future research opportunities for nonlinear analyses in sales research.     

The effects of grace interventions in church communities*

Grace remains little studied though several recent studies have developed promising ways to measure grace. Here we report two studies involving grace interventions as part of an ongoing investigation of positive psychology in the context of Christian church communities, Study One used a crossover design in which two congregations were measured on grace and other variables at the outset, and again after phases one and two. One congregation received a grace intervention during phase one and the second during phase two. Results showed increased scores on grace but not an expected increase in marital satisfaction among married participants. Study Two used a similar design with two additional congregations to assess effects of a grace intervention on self-forgiveness. As expected, congregants receiving the grace intervention showed increases in trait self-forgiveness when compared to those in the wait-list.     

Flash-induced forward and reverse illusory line motion in offset bars

Illusory line motion (ILM) refers to perception of motion in a bar that onsets or offsets all at once. When the bar onsets or offsets between two boxes after one of the boxes flashes, the bar appears to shoot out of the flashed box (_flashILM). If the bar offsets during the flash, it appears to contract into the flashed box (reverse ILM; rILM). Onset bars do not show rILM. Moreover, rILM and _flashILM are not correlated, indicating they are two different illusions. To date, rILM has only been studied using a 50-ms flash where the bar offsets 16.7 ms after flash onset. It is not clear if rILM is due to the 16.7-ms flash-bar-removal stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) or due to the flash offsetting after the bar. The current studies explore these parameters to better understand the conditions that lead to rILM. The results suggest that _flashILM is sensitive to the temporal interval between flash onset and bar offset, while rILM appears to arise when the flash offsets after the bar has been removed regardless of the temporal interval between flash onset and bar removal. These results are consistent with _flashILM reflecting visual exogenous attention while rILM may reflect the low-level spreading of subthreshold activation radiating from the flashed box. The findings are incorporated into the recent work that suggests that the literature concerning ILM is possibly conflating a number of different illusions of line motion, including polarized gamma motion (PGM), transformational apparent motion (TAM), and exogenous attention induced motion (_flashILM).     

The Interaction Between Conscientiousness and General Mental Ability: Support for a Compensatory Interaction in Task Performance

Journal of Business and Psychology - We propose a compensatory interactive influence of conscientiousness and GMA in task performance such that conscientiousness is most beneficial to performance...     

Grit Across Nations: The Cross-National Equivalence of the Grit-O Scale

Journal of Happiness Studies - Despite its popularity in practice, the Grit-O Scale has shown inconsistent factorial structures and differing levels of internal consistency in samples outside the...     

A computer program for Spearman-K?rber and probit analysis of psychometric function data.

PMETRIC is a computer program for the analysis of observed psychometric functions. It can estimate the parameters of these functions, using either probit analysis (a parametric technique) or the Spearman-K?rber method (a nonparametric one). For probit analysis, either a maximum likelihood or a minimum chi 2 criterion may be used for parameter estimation. In addition, standard errors of parameter estimates can be estimated via bootstrapping. The program can be used to analyze data obtained from either yes-no or m-alternative forced-choice tasks. To facilitate the use of PMETRIC in simulation work, an associated program, PMETGEN, is provided for the generation of simulated psychometric function data. Use of PMETRIC is illustrated with data from a duration discrimination task.     

Theatre and Research in the Reproductive Sciences

This paper explores the power of theatre to engage the public and my personal journey using theatre as a research tool in reproductive science. I argue that the capacity of theatre to simultaneously engage the minds and hearts of audience members qua research participants affords audience members the capacity to provide researchers with insightful comments informed by the scientific, social and tacit knowledge derived from the performance, integrated with their lived experience. Theatre is a particularly important research strategy when investigating public understandings and desires about complex issues such as those related to reproductive and genetic science.     

Subjective reports of stimulus,response, and decision times in speeded tasks: How accurate are decision time reports?

Four experiments examined how accurately participants can report the times of their own decisions. Within an auditory reaction time (RT) task, participants reported the time at which (a) the tone was presented, (b) they decided on the response, or (c) the response key was pressed. Decision time reports were checked for plausibility against the actual RTs, and we compared the effects of experimental manipulations on these two measures to see whether the reported decision times showed appropriate effects. In addition, we estimated the amount of error associated with individual decision time reports by checking how often participants’ decision time reports were implausibly early (i.e., before stimulus onset) or late (i.e., after response), and by using several quantitative models. Overall, the results suggest that decision time reports are not very accurate but they may be usable for some purposes.