Affinity propagation: An exemplar-based tool for clustering in psychological research

Affinity propagation is a message-passing-based clustering procedure that has received widespread attention in domains such as biological science, physics, and computer science. However, its implementation in psychology and related areas of social science is comparatively scant. In this paper, we describe the basic principles of affinity propagation, its relationship to other clustering problems, and the types of data for which it can be used for cluster analysis. More importantly, we identify the strengths and weaknesses of affinity propagation as a clustering tool in general and highlight potential opportunities for its use in psychological research. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the method.     

Cognition and Emotion,Volume 24, 2010, List of Contents

Effective emotion regulation is important for high-quality social functioning. Recent laboratory-based evidence suggests that mindfulness may enhance emotion regulation in socioemotional contexts; however, little is known about mindful emotion regulation during in vivo social interactions. In a study of romantic couples, we assessed each partner's mindfulness and top-down attentional efficiency (with an Emotional Go/No-Go task) prior to sampling emotions and perceived connection with others during day-to-day social interactions. Analyses revealed that mindfulness-related differences in top-down attentional efficiency on the Emotional Go/No-Go predicted positive emotion during daily social interactions. In turn, positive emotion and two additional indices of social emotion regulation each mediated the relation between actor mindfulness and perceived social connection. In corresponding analyses, neither trait reappraisal nor suppression use predicted the outcomes, and all mindfulness relations held controlling for these strategies. Findings support a framework for investigating mindfulness and higher-quality social functioning, for which mindful emotion regulation may be key.     

Candidate Effects on Election Outcomes: Political Skill,Campaign Efficacy,and Intentions in a British General Election

Integrating Social/Political Influence Theory with the Theory of Planned Behavior, we argue that personal resources (i.e., political skill, self-efficacy) enable political candidates to form more ambitious campaign intentions, and thus perform better in elections. We tested this model with a sample of political candidates (N = 225) campaigning in a British general election. Three months before polling day, candidates provided self-ratings of political skill, domain-specific self-efficacy (i.e., campaign efficacy), and personal campaign intentions during the campaign period. Our results demonstrated that political skill was positively related to campaign efficacy, and intentions, via campaign efficacy. We also found a significant indirect effect for political skill on electoral performance (i.e., percentage of the vote), through campaign efficacy and intentions. Implications of our results for understanding candidate effects in campaigns and future research are discussed.     

Is Exposure to Suicide Beyond Kin Associated with Risk for Suicidal Behavior? A Systematic Review of the Evidence

Suicide bereavement and postvention literature often espouses risk for subsequent suicidal behavior among those previously exposed to a suicide death. Most often risk is discussed in relation to kin; however, many more individuals are exposed to suicide, and the impact of this exposure is important to understand in relation to targeting postvention. This review examined the research literature (1990–2014) to determine the evidence base for risk among those exposed to suicide. The findings demonstrate that risk of suicidal behaviors among those exposed to the suicide is significantly higher than those unexposed. These results are discussed within the context of current research in the field of postvention, and suggestions for future research are suggested.     

The counterintuitive impact of responses and response times on parameter estimates in the drift diffusion model

Given a drift diffusion model with unknown drift and boundary parameters, we analyse the behaviour of maximum likelihood estimates with respect to changes of responses and response times. It is shown analytically that a single fast response time can dominate the estimation in that no matter how many correct answers a test taker provides, the estimate of the drift (ability) parameter decreases to zero. In addition, it is shown that although higher drift rates imply shorter response times, the reverse implication does not hold for the estimates: shorter response times can decrease the drift rate estimate. In the light of these analytical results, we illustrate the actual impact of the findings in a small simulation for a mental rotation test. The method of analysis outlined is applicable to a broader range of models, and we emphasize the need to further check currently used reaction time models within this framework.