A Comparison of Methods for Creating Multiple Imputations of Nominal Variables

Many variables that are analyzed by social scientists are nominal in nature. When missing data occur on these variables, optimal recovery of the analysis model's parameters is a challenging endeavor. One of the most popular methods to deal with missing nominal data is multiple imputation (MI). This study evaluated the capabilities of five MI methods that can be used to treat incomplete nominal variables: multiple imputation with chained equations (MICE) using polytomous regression as the elementary imputation method; MICE based on classification and regression trees (CART); MICE based on nested logistic regressions; the ranking procedure described by Allison (2002 Allison, P. D. (2002). Missing data. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9780857020994.n4[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]); and a joint modeling approach based on the general location model. We first motivate our inquiry with an applied example and then present the results of a Monte Carlo simulation study that compared the performance of the five imputation methods under conditions of varying sample size, percentage of missing data, and number of nominal response categories. We found that MICE with polytomous regression was the strongest performer while the Allison (2002 Allison, P. D. (2002). Missing data. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9780857020994.n4[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) ranking procedure and MICE with CART performed poorly in most conditions.     

Psychoedukation – zusammen weniger allein

Das Anbieten psychoedukativer Trainingsprogramme ist State-of-the-Art der medizinisch-therapeutischen Behandlung von Menschen mit psychischen St?rungen. Psychoedukation sollte gleich zu Beginn der psychischen Erkrankung erfolgen und auch den Angeh?rigen oder nahen Bezugspersonen erm?glicht werden. Erwiesenerma?en ist eine Kombination aus Medikamenten und den Gruppenangeboten Psychoedukation sowie Selbsthilfe am erfolgversprechendsten für den Krankheitsverlauf. Durch psychoedukative Trainingsprogramme wird nicht nur die Lebensqualit?t der Patienten gef?rdert, sondern auch das Wissen um die Erkrankung und ihre Früherkennung. Die Patienten lernen in der Psychoedukation wie sie bei einer drohenden Wiedererkrankung reagieren mussen, um diese rasch abzufangen. Die Wichtigkeit der verschiedenen psychoedukativen Trainingsprogramme für einen günstigen Krankheitsverlauf wurde in zahlreichen Studien untersucht und immer wieder best?tigt.     

Impulsiveness and resource allocation: Testing Humphreys and Revelle’s (1984) explanation of impulsive personality

Humphreys and Revelle [Humphreys, M. S., Revelle, W. (1984). Personality, motivation and performance: A theory of the relationship between individual differences and information processing. Psychological Review, 91, 153–184] suggest that impulsive individuals have relatively greater capacity to improve performance through task-directed resource allocation. This implies that there will be a differential effect of increases in effort intensity on performance for high and low impulsive individuals. Two quasi-experiments tested this prediction using a relative-judgement task (total N = 108, 68 females), however neither revealed the predicted interaction. In light of these findings, we re-consider the Humphreys–Revelle model in relation to independent but potentially related theory and research.     

DISCREPANCY IN FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS RESULTS ACROSS TWO SETTINGS: IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERVENTION DESIGN

Functional analyses that were conducted in two settings (playground and classroom) indicated that problem behavior was sensitive to adult attention on the playground and tangible items in the classroom. Attention‐ and tangible‐based interventions were designed based on the results from each of the assessment environments and were compared. The attention‐based intervention was more effective on the playground, and the tangible‐based intervention was more effective in the classroom. Findings are discussed in regards to the generality of functional analysis results across environments.     

The development of academic competence among adolescents who bully and who are bullied

Using data from the first three waves (Grades 5, 6, and 7) of the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development, this study assessed if being a bully or being a victim accounts for an adolescent's academic competence, if selected contextual and individual variables impact an adolescent's academic competence, and if such impact differs in relation to an adolescent's bullying status. The results of random coefficient hierarchical regression analyses indicated that being a bully predicted lower grades across time, and that being a bully was more detrimental for girls than for boys. Being a bully and being a victim negatively predicted self-perceived academic competence, but these predictive effects did not change over time or differ by sex. Teacher support positively predicted grades and greater parent support and teacher support independently predicted higher self-perceive academic competence. Greater educational expectations and school engagement independently predicted higher self-reported grades, while these two predictors positively interacted in explaining self-perceived academic competence. Unexpectedly, peer support negatively predicted self-reported grades for victims, and negatively predicted self-perceived academic competence for bullies. We discuss the importance of addressing the issue of academic competence in bullying interventions, as well as the utility of capitalizing on developmental assets in promoting academic competence among adolescents who bully and who are bullied.     

Outlined objects in a Mach pattern create illusions: further evidence of a frequency code for size

In two experiments, new illusions of size were created using stimuli composed of nine trees, otoscopes, pens, hourglasses, hands, or mailboxes. The size of the nine objects varied across space in accordance with a Mach pattern. At the small side of the stimuli where there were three objects of identical size, the object at the inflection point was seen as smallest; at the large side of the stimuli where there were also three objects of equal size, the object at the inflection point was seen as largest. In Exp. 3, isolated objects and objects at the inflection points of the Mach stimuli were compared. When the stimuli were oriented to place the judged objects at the inflection points near the isolated object, figures with both pens and otoscopes at the small side of the pattern were underestimated and the figures of pens and otoscopes at the large side of the pattern were overestimated. These illusions resemble Brigner and Kauffman's Mach lines illusion and appear to result from interaction among visual neurons which are encoding the size of complex objects by frequency of their response.     

Female Questionnaire of Trait Self-Objectification: Initial Development and Validation in China

Sex Roles - The present research involved the initial development and validation of the 17-item Female Questionnaire of Trait Self-Objectification (FQSO), which measures Chinese women’s trait...     

客体在视觉工作记忆中的存储机制

采用变化觉察范式,通过两个实验对不同类型视觉信息在工作记忆中的存储机制进行了探讨。实验一中要求记忆的客体由颜色和形状两基本特征构成;实验二中的客体为具有不同颜色及开口朝向的兰道环。通过观察检测项变化方式对记忆绩效的影响,获得以下结论:（1）对颜色和形状两基本特征的存储以整合客体为单位;（2）兰道环的颜色与开口朝向信息难以以整合客体方式存储。笔者推测,视觉工作记忆中存储的整合客体并非如现有理论假设的,是在集中注意参与下创建的,而是由并行加工阶段所获信息构成;客体中所含需集中注意提取的细节特征信息难以与其基本特征信息整合于该客体表征