Example,please! Comparing the effects of single customer reviews and aggregate review scores on online shoppers' product evaluations

Many websites of online retail stores display two forms of electronic word of mouth on a single product site, namely single customer reviews and aggregate review scores. This study compares the effects of simultaneously presented single customer reviews and aggregate review scores on product evaluations of visitors of online retail stores. We hypothesize that well‐argued single customer reviews should be more influential than aggregate review scores that display the mean rating of all published reviews of a product. Drawing on a 2 × 2 factorial online experiment, we show that a single customer review is effective, even when potential buyers do not perceive it as representing overall customer satisfaction. Effects of the aggregate review score are weaker and completely mediated by a potential buyer's estimate of overall customer satisfaction. Trust in product reviews as a credible source of product‐related communication moderates some of these effects. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Resolving Uncertainty About the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale–12: Application of Modern Psychometric Strategies

In this study, we evaluated the factor structure, reliability estimates, item parameters, and differential correlates of the short form of the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (Carleton, Norton, &; Asmundson, 2007 Carleton, R., Norton, P., &; Asmundson, G. (2007). Fearing the unknown. A short version of the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 21, 105–117.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) in samples of undergraduate women (n = 387) and men (n = 276) ranging in age from 18 to 49 years (M = 20.20, SD = 3.91). This instrument was designed to measure 2 facets of intolerance of uncertainty—prospective anxiety and inhibitory anxiety—although total scores on the measure are often used. A major objective of this study was to determine the degree to which derivation of total versus subscale scores is empirically permissible. Comparison of a bifactor model to a unidimensional model and a 2-factor correlated traits model indicated that the bifactor model exhibited superior fit to the sample data. This model provided evidence of a strong general intolerance of uncertainty factor that was more reliable and accounted for significantly more common variance than either subscale factor. Examination of the item response theory slope parameters revealed negligible bias in the measure's items across genders. Finally, a series of simultaneous regression analyses was conducted to examine differential correlates of the measure's total scale scores for men and women.     

Narrative Practices and Positive Aging: A Reflection about Life Celebration in a Group of Old Women

The main objective of this article is to address the impact of narrative practices in life celebration after the age of 80 and in the co-construction of a community-positive future. We share here an exploratory reflection about the narratives of a group of older women integrated in a community project. The Wednesday Tea Project (Chá das Quartas) has been ongoing for 4 years, and involves a group of old women experiencing high levels of loneliness and isolation in their small village in Portugal. The Wednesday Tea Project is based on positive psychology methodologies and consists of ritualized sessions that encourage participatory group dynamics. To describe how this project has highlighted the benefits of narrative practices, we utilized a series of scaffolding questions. Some of the most relevant outcomes of this project are: (a) the deconstruction of the dominant social discourse; (b) the publication of a book; (c) the reduction of loneliness feelings by re-membering significant figures; and (d) new levels of action both to women and the community as a consequence of a re-authoring process. Narrative practices seem to have contributed to the consolidation of all time dimensions, giving these women the opportunity to celebrate life after the age of 80, while also allowing the community to be part of and to benefit from the process. A reflection about the contributions of this article to a paradigm change toward positive aging is presented.     

Memorial Monitoring and Control: How Confidence and Social and Financial Consequences Affect Eyewitnesses' Reporting of Fine‐Grain Information

Research suggests that accessible coarse‐grain (i.e. general) information is sometimes under‐reported in memory accounts. In two experiments, socially motivating conditions were manipulated to determine whether, and under what contexts, coarse‐grain information is avoided because eyewitnesses are motivated to be specific and willing to risk accuracy. In Experiment 1, response privacy (private, public) and audience (high authority, low authority) were manipulated. Response privacy and penalty for inaccurate reporting (penalty, no penalty) were manipulated in Experiment 2. Across both experiments, eyewitnesses' confidence estimation (i.e. monitoring) was effective, suggesting that coarse‐grain information is under‐reported through poor decision making (i.e. control). Eyewitnesses avoided coarse‐grain information because they sometimes displayed a bias towards reporting fine‐grain information. This bias was more apparent, and coarse‐grain information avoiding more likely, when the perceived consequences for reporting were minimal (i.e. when in private in Experiment 1 and when no penalty for inaccuracy was imposed in Experiment 2). Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

TENI: A comprehensive battery for cognitive assessment based on games and technology

TENI (Test de Evaluación Neuropsicológica Infantil) is an instrument developed to assess cognitive abilities in children between 3 and 9 years of age. It is based on a model that incorporates games and technology as tools to improve the assessment of children’s capacities. The test was standardized with two Chilean samples of 524 and 82 children living in urban zones. Evidence of reliability and validity based on current standards is presented. Data show good levels of reliability for all subtests. Some evidence of validity in terms of content, test structure, and association with other variables is presented. This instrument represents a novel approach and a new frontier in cognitive assessment. Further studies with clinical, rural, and cross-cultural populations are required.     

The Influence of Candidate Social Effectiveness on Assessment Center Performance Ratings: A field study

The present research examined the influence of constructs representing social effectiveness on assessment center (AC) ratings in two samples. We expected different effects of self‐monitoring (SM) on different dimension ratings, a positive effect of the ability to identify criteria (ATIC) on the overall AC rating and a moderating effect of the ATIC on the relationship between SM and the dimension rating. Forty‐six (Study 1) and 115 (Study 2) applicants participated in ACs in field settings. Across both studies, SM had a negative effect on the integrity rating. No relationship was identified between SM and social sensitivity or problem solving ratings. In Study 1, the ATIC had a positive effect on the overall AC rating. No support was identified for a moderating effect of the ATIC on the relationship between SM and the social sensitivity rating.     

Validity and Reliability of the Parenting Stress Index Short Form (PSI-SF) Applied to a Chilean Sample

The Parenting Stress Index was developed in response to the need for a measure to assess the parent-child system. Its abbreviated version, the Parenting Stress Index Short Form, is an instrument with multiple clinical applications and is useful for research and intervention purposes. The Parenting Stress Index Short Form was standardized for use with parents of children ranging from 1 month to 12 years old. Several validation studies are available, most of them not supporting the original structure of three factors. No validation studies for this instrument currently exist in Latin America for a socially vulnerable population. The purpose of this study was to evaluate both the validity and internal consistency of Parenting Stress Index Short Form in a Chilean sample including 336 dyads (mean age of mothers 21.4 years; SD?=?7.38; and mean age of children 84.8 days; SD?=?78.0), demonstrating risk for negative health outcomes and who attend public primary health care. An exploratory factor analysis showed a three-factor structure that was compatible with the original version and explained 41.45?% of the variance. Internal consistency was high both for the total scale (Cronbach’s α?=?0.92) and the three subscales (0.81: Parenting Distress; 0.89: Parent–Child Dysfunctional Interaction and 0.88: Difficult Child). The Goldberg General Health Questionnaire was used to assess external criterion related validity and a positive and statistically significant correlation was found (0.86). The evidence suggests that the Parenting Stress Index Short Form can be used as an instrument to measure the relationship between parenting and stress. Due to its psychometric characteristics, it can be applied to a vulnerable Chilean population. The contribution of this study is the validation of this instrument in a Spanish speaking population with characteristics of social vulnerability.     

A key role for experimental task performance: effects of math talent, gender and performance on the neural correlates of mental rotation

The neurophysiological mechanisms underlying superior cognitive performance are a research area of high interest. The majority of studies on the brain-performance relationship assessed the effects of capability-related group factors (e.g. talent, gender) on task-related brain activations while only few studies examined the effect of the inherent experimental task performance factor. In this functional MRI study, we combined both approaches and simultaneously assessed the effects of three relatively independent factors on the neurofunctional correlates of mental rotation in same-aged adolescents: math talent (gifted/controls: 17/17), gender (male/female: 16/18) and experimental task performance (median split on accuracy; high/low: 17/17). Better experimental task performance of mathematically gifted vs. control subjects and male vs. female subjects validated the selected paradigm. Activation of the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) was identified as a common effect of mathematical giftedness, gender and experimental task performance. However, multiple linear regression analyses (stepwise) indicated experimental task performance as the only predictor of parietal activations. In conclusion, increased activation of the IPL represents a positive neural correlate of mental rotation performance, irrespective of but consistent with the obtained neurocognitive and behavioral effects of math talent and gender. As experimental performance may strongly affect task-related activations this factor needs to be considered in capability-related group comparison studies on the brain-performance relationship.     

Mind-reading in strategic interaction: The impact of perceived similarity on projection and stereotyping

In social dilemmas, negotiations, and other forms of strategic interaction, mind-reading—intuiting another party’s preferences and intentions—has an important impact on an actor’s own behavior. In this paper, we present a model of how perceivers shift between social projection (using one’s own mental states to intuit a counterpart’s mental states) and stereotyping (using general assumptions about a group to intuit a counterpart’s mental states). Study 1 extends prior work on perceptual dilemmas in arms races, examining Americans’ perceptions of Chinese attitudes toward military escalation. Study 2 adapts a prisoner’s dilemma, pairing participants with outgroup targets. Study 3 employs an ultimatum game, asking male and female participants to make judgments about opposite sex partners. Study 4 manipulates perceived similarity as well as counterpart stereotype in a principal–agent context. Across the studies, we find evidence for our central prediction: higher levels of perceived similarity are associated with increased projection and reduced stereotyping.     

Above and beyond emotional valence: the unique contribution of central and traumatic shame memories to psychopathology vulnerability

This paper explores whether shame memories have a distinct impact on emotional difficulties and psychopathology that goes beyond their negative emotional valence. Study 1 (N=292) investigates the contribution of centrality of shame memory, in comparison to the centrality of fear and sadness memories, to explain the memory's traumatic impact, shame, depression, anxiety, stress, paranoid, and dissociative symptoms. Study 2 (N=192) explores the impact of shame traumatic memory on shame and depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms, in comparison to fear and sadness traumatic memories. Both studies used undergraduate student samples. Results show that shame memories' centrality and traumatic features made an independent contribution to current external and internal shame and distinct psychopathological symptoms, after controlling for the effect of fear and sadness, centrality, and traumatic qualities. Moreover, shame memories' centrality and traumatic features were the best global predictors of external and internal shame and depressive symptoms. Centrality of shame memories was also the only significant predictor of paranoid ideation and dissociation. These results offer novel perspectives on the nature of shame and its relation to psychopathology, emphasising the distinct role of shame memories in human functioning and suffering, which goes above and beyond its negative emotional valence.