Divided attention, order of report and responses to immediately successive signals

Two effects, “divided-attention” and “order of report”, are operationally denned. Their relative contributions to the reduction in efficiency which accompanies the recognition of difficult nonverbal signals, presented simultaneously, is considered. Experiment I evaluated the two effects in the absence of a fixed order of report and emphasis instructions, confounding features of previous studies. The results showed: an overall impairment of performance with simultaneous signals; a contribution of both effects to the decrement, with a suggestion of the primacy of the “order of report” effect; and a significant interaction between the latter effect and modality, such that visual signals showed the greater effect. Experiment II using similar signals tested the assumption that simultaneity of presentation is a necessary condition for obtaining reduced efficiency with multiple signals. The assumption was only partially confirmed, a significant decrement in performance occurring only for the second of two successively presented signals. Similarities between the two sets of results are noted, as well as between these and modality differences obtained with verbal materials. Two possible accounts of the data are proposed, one based on “input”, the other on “storage” models of divided-attention. The hypothesis that subjects report the most clearly perceived signal first is rejected as an independent explanation.     

Hardware and software evolution of an adaptive ability measurement system

A software system for the administration of six different strategies of adaptive ability tests in a variety of formats was developed both on a large-scale time-sharing system and on a real-time minicomputer system. Factors influencing both hardware selection and software design are discussed.     

Free will fallibilism and the “two-standpoints” account of freedom

Synthese - In this paper I propose a form of free will fallibilism. Unlike the free will realist who is fully persuaded that we have sufficient evidence of freedom to justify holding individuals...     

Applying the self-determination theory continuum to unhealthy eating: Consequences on well-being and behavioral frequency

The present research applies self-determination theory (SDT) to the context of unhealthy eating. The extent to which each of the six types of motivations stemming from the SDT continuum applies to unhealthy eating is examined, as well as the contribution of each motivation for eating unhealthily in predicting psychological well-being and frequency of unhealthy eating. A three-wave longitudinal study (N = 379) was conducted before, during, and after the Christmas holidays. Results demonstrated that three types of motivations (i.e., identified, introjected, and external regulation) for unhealthy eating fluctuated over time and peaked during the holidays, a time when unhealthy eating becomes especially salient in Western societies. However, amotivation for unhealthy eating reached its lowest level during the holidays. While identified regulation was associated with greater well-being, introjected regulation, and amotivation for unhealthy eating were linked with lower well-being. Integrated regulation was associated with lower well-being only before and after the holiday period. Finally, the integrated, introjected, external regulations, and amotivation were linked to higher frequency of unhealthy eating. These results confirm that each type of motivation presents distinct patterns of associations with well-being and actual behavior. Results also demonstrate that the social context in which eating takes place can have an impact on the relationship between motivations and well-being as well as behavior.     

Examining the item response process to personality measures in high-stakes situations: Issues of measurement validity and predictive validity

We conducted two experimental studies with between-subjects and within-subjects designs to investigate the item response process for personality measures administered in high- versus low-stakes situations. Apart from assessing measurement validity of the item response process, we examined predictive validity; that is, whether or not different response models entail differential selection outcomes. We found that ideal point response models fit slightly better than dominance response models across high- versus low-stakes situations in both studies. Additionally, fitting ideal point models to the data led to fewer items displaying differential item functioning compared to fitting dominance models. We also identified several items that functioned as intermediate items in both the faking and honest conditions when ideal point models were fitted, suggesting that ideal point model is “theoretically” more suitable across these contexts for personality inventories. However, the use of different response models (dominance vs. ideal point) did not have any substantial impact on the validity of personality measures in high-stakes situations, or the effectiveness of selection decisions such as mean performance or percent of fakers selected. These findings are significant in that although prior research supports the importance and use of ideal point models for measuring personality, we find that in the case of personality faking, though ideal point models seem to have slightly better measurement validity, the use of dominance models may be adequate with no loss to predictive validity.     

The typology of parricide and the role of mental illness: Data-driven approach

Parricide is a rare type of homicide in which mental illness is often an important factor. The aims of this study were (a) to describe the characteristics of parricide offenders with a focus on mental illness and clinical care and (b) to examine Heide's widely used typology of parricide through a data-driven approach. We analyzed all homicides in England and Wales between 1997 and 2014. Parricide offenders in our sample were most often male, unmarried, and unemployed, with a third of offenders diagnosed with schizophrenia; 28% had been in contact with mental health services before the offense. The latent class analysis resulted in three types of parricide offenders: middle-aged with affective disorder, previously abused, and seriously mentally Ill, which confirmed, to an extent, Heide's typology. Health and social care services should actively engage with carers of people with mental illness and support to those caring for older relatives and victims of abuse.     

Psychometric and Validity Issues in Machine Learning Approaches to Personality Assessment: A Focus on Social Media Text Mining

In the age of big data, substantial research is now moving toward using digital footprints like social media text data to assess personality. Nevertheless, there are concerns and questions regarding the psychometric and validity evidence of such approaches. We seek to address this issue by focusing on social media text data and (i) conducting a review of psychometric validation efforts in social media text mining (SMTM) for personality assessment and discussing additional work that needs to be done; (ii) considering additional validity issues from the standpoint of reference (i.e. ‘ground truth’) and causality (i.e. how personality determines variations in scores derived from SMTM); and (iii) discussing the unique issues of generalizability when validating SMTM for personality assessment across different social media platforms and populations. In doing so, we explicate the key validity and validation issues that need to be considered as a field to advance SMTM for personality assessment, and, more generally, machine learning personality assessment methods. © 2020 European Association of Personality Psychology