Examining Faking on Personality Inventories Using Unfolding Item Response Theory Models

A concern about personality inventories in diagnostic and decision-making contexts is that individuals will fake. Although there is extensive research on faking, little research has focused on how perceptions of personality items change when individuals are faking or responding honestly. This research demonstrates how the delta parameter from the generalized graded unfolding item response theory model can be used to examine how individuals’ perceptions about personality items might change when responding honestly or when faking. The results indicate that perceptions changed from honest to faking conditions for several neuroticism items. The direction of the change varied, indicating that faking can operate to increase or decrease scores within a personality factor.     

Do as you’re told! Facets of agreeableness and early adult outcomes for inner-city boys

With data from the middle cohort of the Pittsburgh Youth Study, a prospective longitudinal study of inner-city boys, we examined whether Big Five agreeableness facets could be reliably recovered in this sample, and whether facets predicted educational, occupational, social, and antisocial life outcomes assessed a decade later. Caregivers described their adolescent boys’ personalities using the Common California Q-Set; twelve years later, participants were interviewed and court records were obtained. Factor analyses recovered two facets: compliance and compassion. Compliance predicted more schooling and lower risk of unemployment, teenage fatherhood, and crime; compassion related to longer committed relationships. Findings highlight the value of studying personality at the facet level.     

Choice as an Intervention to Improve Behavior: A Review of the Literature

In recent years, choice making has been evaluated as an intervention for people with disabilities. This review examines applied research during the past two decades using choice as a distinct intervention or as part of an intervention package. Fourteen studies published between 1975 and 1996 were identified that implemented choice as an intervention to increase or decrease a target behavior. These studies applied choice-making in the following three broad areas: (a) vocational or domestic activities; (b) academic activities; and (c) leisure, recreational, or social activities. All of the studies indicated that choice-making procedures resulted in behavioral improvements with some, if not all of the participants.     

Zur Axiomatischen Charakterisierung Alternativer Vertragsprinzipien

Ohne ZusammenfassungIch habe Herrn Dr. Wulf Gaertner, Fakultät für Wirtschaftswissenschaften der Universität Bielefeld, für seine kritischen Hinweise und Anregungen sehr zu danken. Alle verbliebenen Fehler fallen selbstverständlich in meine Verantwortung.     

Human lumbar cord circuitries can be activated by extrinsic tonic input to generate locomotor-like activity

We have demonstrated that non-patterned electrical stimulation of the lumbar cord can induce stepping-like activity in the lower limbs of complete spinal cord injured individuals. This result suggested the existence of a human lumbar locomotor pattern generator, which can convert a tonic input to a rhythmic motor output. We have studied the human lumbar cord in isolation from supraspinal input but under extrinsic tonic input delivered by spinal cord stimulation. Large-diameter afferents within the posterior roots are directly depolarized by the electrical stimulation. These afferents project to motoneurons as well as to lumbar interneurons involved in the motor control of lower limbs. Stimulation at 25-50 Hz can elicit rhythmic alternating flexion/extension movements of the lower limbs in supine individuals. Reducing the tonic input frequency to 5-15 Hz initiates lower limb extension. Epidural stimulation applied during manually assisted treadmill stepping in complete spinal cord injured persons immediately increases the central state of excitability of lumbar cord networks and enhances stepping-like functional motor outputs. Sustained, non-patterned tonic input via the posterior roots can activate human lumbar cord networks. Pattern generating configurations of these multifunctional circuitries can be set-up depending on the stimulation parameters and particularly on the input frequency.     

Conscious thought and the sustained attention to response task

We investigated the properties of the sustained attention to response task (SART). In the SART, participants respond to frequent (high probability of occurrence) neutral signals and are required to withhold response to rare (low probability of occurrence) critical signals. We examined whether SART performance shows characteristics of speed–accuracy tradeoffs and in addition, we examined whether SART performance is influenced by prior exposure to emotional picture stimuli. Thirty-six participants in this study performed SARTs after being exposed to neutral and negative picture stimuli. Performance in the SART changed rapidly over time and there was a high correlation between participants errors of commission rate and their reaction time to the neutral targets (r = −.61). Regardless of exposure self-reported thoughts significantly correlated with both errors of commission and reaction times. Overall, the results support the view that the SART is a better measure of impulsive responding than sustained attention.     

Fakability of two different role-play methodologies for assessing assertion.

The fakability of two methodologically different role-play tests of assertion was examined, 30 undergraduates low in assertiveness were tested and retested on the Behavioral Assertiveness Test--Revised and the Idiographic Role-play Test. Half of the testees were instructed to fake assertion during the second testing. Analysis indicated that both tests were fakable; however, testees reported more difficulty faking the latter test than the former. The detection of faking may be possible, particularly on role-play tests employing an idiographic methodology.